Tiny Heart
by DevineInk
Summary: A story about confused feelings, denial, and the effects of a broken heart. Ron and Hermione can't exactly express what they feel towards each other...so they lash out, leaving poor Harry in the middle of their feud. Loosely based off of year 6 in Harry Potter. Ron/Hermione with some Harry/Ginny and some other surprises. Rated T for suggestive themes to come.
1. Hermione

Chapter 1: **Hermione**

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Hermione Granger wrote furiously in her notebook, trying to tune out the gossip of the other Gryffindors in her dormitory. She cursed herself at not knowing how to transfigure her limp scarlet curtains into a thick brick wall to block out the noise from the other girls. Perhaps that should be the next thing she should learn to do after completing her advanced Arithmancy assignment.

"Parvati, he talked to me today!" squealed Lavender Brown in such a way that made Hermione cringe and make an unnecessary black scribble on her parchment.

"Eeek! What did he say?" Parvati Patel giggled obnoxiously. Hermione cringed at the noise expelled.

_Perhaps instead of conjuring a brick wall to block the noise, I should invest in some magical duct tape to put over their mouths, a kind that stuck to a person for at least twelve hours without a way of removal. No doubt Fred and George Weasley had already invented or are working on it in their little workshop above Zonkos_ thought Hermione.

"He ran out of ink in his quill during charms and he asked me if he could borrow some!" Lavender sighed dramatically, as if the boy had asked her to marry her instead of borrow some writing supplies.

"But should we be talking about this?" asked Parvati in a hushed tone. "With...you know...in the room?" Hermione didn't have to look up to know that Parvati and Lavender were eyeing her.

_ Oh no, don't mind me_ Hermione thought bitterly. _I'll just stay inside my curtains, studying and pretending like I don't exist._ She smiled to herself thinking about how much she sounded like Harry from his stories of his days with the Dursleys.

"Oh it doesn't matter Parvati, it's not like I said his name or anything!" Lavender giggled in a manner that somehow surpassed the annoying level Parvati had reached a minute earlier. This time Hermione was so taken aback by the shrill outburst that she fumbled her quill and almost spilt her ink all over her bedspread.

Lavender didn't have to say his name for Hermione to know who she was talking about. In fact, she was pretty sure that _everyone_ knew who she was talking about when she was giggling with Parvati. It was Ron Weasley, who of course, was oblivious to her existence besides her being a fellow Gryffindor in his year. Though they were in all of the same classes, Ron never said more than a simple "hello" to Lavender from time to time over the past six years.

Hermione had been in a odd state since figuring out the obvious signs of Lavender's liking to Ron. At first she was overcome with fits of giggles even more violent than Lavender and Parvati's combined, but when the hilarity of anyone liking Ron subsided, she was left with bitter jealously rotting in the pit of her stomach. She didn't even know what she was jealous of to be frank; Lavender hardly interacted with Ron, and Ron had never shown signs of interest for Lavender. What was there to be jealous of?

_What does she even see in that pig-headed boy anyways?_ Hermione thought while putting her books away. Using her thoughts to block out the noise was much less extraneous than using magic to solve her problem. Hermione just couldn't see what Lavender saw in him. Ron was thick-minded, highly illogically opinionated, and almost always had a face stuffed with food.

Nope, she just couldn't see how anyone could come to like that foul-mouthed, rude, greedy, funny...charming...handsome boy. Hermione simply couldn't see how anyone could come to love someone as perfectly imperfect as him.  
And on that final thought, she was off to bed for a very sleepless night.

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**~A/N: First story published! Hope you all like it and review it. I'd really appreciate feedback especially with any grammar or spelling mistakes made (if I have any). Many thanks to my friend Megan who edits and gives me good feedback before posting. Much more to come, I'll try to update when I have the time. Have a lovely day!**


	2. Replacement

Chapter 2: **Replacement**

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"Oy, Fermione," Ron said with a mouthful of food the next morning in the Great Hall, "you gonna finiff that?"

Hermione wordlessly pushed her plate overflowing with eggs and sausage to him. She didn't even bother to look up at him. How could she? How could she bear to look him in the eyes with all of the humiliation she was facing from a nightmare about him and Lavender last night...

Hermione dreamt that Lavender had taken her place as Ron and Harry's friend and that neither one of them wanted to be associated with her. Dream-Harry had laughed and rebuffed her when she asked him why Dream-Lavender was sitting with them. Dream-Ron however, was much more cruel.

_ "Why would I _ever_ want to be with someone like you when I can be with someone like Lavender?"_ his voice echoed in her ears.  
Hermione witnessed Ron and Lavender's dream-selves kissing each other in a most unpleasant manner (involving lots of tongue) which awakened her instantly only to find tears rolling down her cheeks. The very memory of it made tears well up in her eyes while scooping a spoonful of porridge into her mouth at breakfast.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked.

She opened her mouth to say something but paused when Lavender came skipping in with an ear-to-ear grin on her face. Hermione's face darkened. Lavender waved at Ron who nodded at her in response since his cheeks were stuffed full of food. Hermione screwed up her face and got up abruptly, startling Ron so much that he almost choked on the sausage he was chewing.

"What's her problem?" he mumbled and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe.

"Erm..." Harry coughed awkwardly. "Should we...?"

"I think this is one of those 'Harry come to me' problems," Ron said with an uninterested tone. "You know I'll only make things worse if I talk to her."

Harry sighed and cursed under his breath. As much as he loved being a friend to Hermione, he hated having to be the one to comfort her since he almost never knew what to say. Although, maybe it was better that way since she was the one who did most of the talking anyways.

He met her outside the Great Hall sitting on some stairs, looking deep into thought as she always did when she was alone. Harry sat next to her and patted her shoulder with caution, in case she wasn't in the mood to be touched.

"Something bothering you?" Harry asked.

"Harry, do you like Lavender?"

Before he got a chance to answer, Hermione got up and pushed Harry aside a bit in the process. He adjusted his glasses with confusion and tried to decode what was going on in that brilliant little mind of hers.

"Well, I mean she's nice..." he answered awkwardly. Harry honestly had no idea what to say.

"Nicer than me?" she snapped, a wild look in her eyes that reminded him all too much of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"What-no. Hermione, will you please tell me what's gotten into you this morning?"

Hermione explained her nightmare and left out the part about the anguish she felt when witnessing Ron kissing Lavender. Harry listened attentively and did his best to understand why she was feeling so bad about a silly little dream.

"Hermione, you are aware that this was all happening in your head, right?" Harry said.

"I know...it just felt so real." Hermione sighed then took a few steps back from him.

"Ron would never go out with Lavender anyways, the two barely even talk. And besides," Harry smiled at her as he got up, "we could never replace you."

Harry wrapped an arm around her and she flashed her usual grin. The pair walked back to the Great Hall to grab their books and get ready for Herbology with the Hufflepuffs only to find a most peculiar sight at their table.

Ron was sitting with Lavender who had her hand over his. There was a dreamy look in her eyes as she watched him gorge himself with ham and extra buttered toast. The redheaded boy smiled at her with a face full of crumbs, looking slightly uncomfortable and confused at her presence. Lavender took no time in wiping them away from his lips with her thumb gingerly.

"Well," Harry said with a high pitched tone he sometimes got when he was feeling a combination of nervousness and awkwardness, "How 'bout that?"

Hermione almost bit through her lip. This was going to be a long Herbology lesson.

* * *

Hermione thought the hour would never end. Lavender was simply all over Ron during Herbology which made most everyone uncomfortable with the exception of Ron since he had no idea what was going on. Hermione had caught Harry's eye a couple of times, trying to send him telepathic messages about how disgusting the two of them looked together. Harry must have read her mind judging by the smirks and shrugs he gave in response.

The day only got worse from there. Lavender pushed her way to be next to Ron every chance she got. From exiting the Green House to going to dinner that night in the Great Hall, Lavender had somehow managed to be by his side. Harry didn't mind giving them some space together by standing at a distance; there was no use in disrupting the flirtatious actions of a hopelessly infatuated girl anyways. Hermione, on the other hand, was overflowing with violent thoughts. The more Lavender opened her mouth, the more Hermione had grown to loath her.

That night, Lavender had decided to take Hermione's usual chair next to Ron in the Gryffindor common room. Harry offered to sit somewhere else with Hermione, that way she could be away from Lavender and her giggling (which was getting to be absolutely unbearable at this point), but she refused and insisted he stayed with Ron. Hermione knew that Lavender wouldn't dare make a serious move on him as long as Harry was present.

She placed her books down with a heavy thud at an empty table and turned her back towards everyone in the common room. Hermione's head was somewhere else while her eyes scanned her advanced Ancient Runes text book. She couldn't help but think of Lavender taking her position with Harry and Ron throughout the day. Her silly little dream had felt more like a prophecy after the day's events.

"Focus Hermione, focus," she said quietly to get her mind back on track.

"Focus on what?"

Hermione looked up and saw Ron standing before her with a smile on his face. She quickly looked back and saw Harry talking to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan while Lavender pouted, glaring at the dancing orange flames in the fireplace.

"Um, Ancient Runes," she answered. Hermione couldn't help but grin. He had chosen her company over Lavender's.

"Ugh, you choose the most boring of subjects to study Hermione," Ron said as he sat down across from her.

"Oh Ron, it's far from boring. Quite fascinating to be honest. Although, I do find Arithmancy to be more intriguing."

"You're going to have to explain to me how _anyone_ could _possibly_ find Arithmancy and Ancient Runes to be interesting, without boring me to death in the process of course."

Perhaps Hermione wasn't going to be replaced after all.

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**~A/N: Thanks Megan for editing this with me! Please review/follow if you're interested, feedback is very appreciated especially if I've made a mistake of some sort. Have a lovely day and more to come soon!**


	3. Ron

Chapter 3: **Ron**

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Ron Weasley couldn't grasp exactly what caused this sudden change in his life starting with his sixth year at Hogwarts. All of a sudden, life had been taking sharp turns for the better and less of the worse as it normally was. Ron's luck was usually horrendous. Since the beginning of this career at Hogwarts, Ron Weasley was known the boy with the hand-me downs and the goofy demeanor standing in Harry Potter's shadow, but lately that image of himself had began to change.

He had regained his position of keeper once more on the Gryffindor Quidditch team beating out his hated rival Cormac McLaggen, ended up getting the brand new potions book as opposed to that odd, ratty one in Slughorn's closet that Harry got, and had received seven O.W.L.s from fifth year exams. Yes indeed, things were definitely looking up for Ron Weasley so far.

Even his attractiveness to girls of all classes and houses was starting to play in his favor. Since entering his second-to-final year of school, the teenage beauties of Hogwarts had been warming up to Ron and his charm; although, he was completely oblivious to the sudden infatuations these girls had with him.

Nevertheless, Ron Weasley wasn't just Harry Potter's best friend anymore. People were starting to recognize him as his own person, and for the first time in his life Ron was comfortable in his own skin.

With a spring and his step, Ron practically ran out of the potions dungeons and up the stairs with Harry and Hermione trailing behind, trying to keep up with his longer legs.

"Slow down Ronald!" Hermione shouted from a moving staircase below him on their way to the common room. She was the furthest behind of the three.

"How can I Hermione? It's Friday!" he sighed happily. "There's no classes tomorrow, which means we can spend some time in Hogsmeade and sleep in for hours and hours without worrying about any stupid assignment due the next day."

"Sounds like a plan," Harry said and joined Ron at the staircase in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

Hermione huffed and puffed her way up to the stairs. Her books were almost falling out of her arms and she had a significant amount of hair in her face from her running to keep up with the boys.

"Oh Hermione, you..." Ron pointed to her face then shrugged at the confused expression she gave him. "Here."

He took her books in his arm and brushed some hair behind her ear with his free hand. She opened her mouth to say "thank you", but he had turned his back on her and told the Fat Lady the password ("Abstinence") for the tower entrance before she got the chance. Ron carried Hermione's books briefly before carelessly tossing them on a table.

While Hermione sorted out her precious texts, Ron went to sit at his usual fireplace seat with Harry. Lavender had once again swooped in and taken Hermione's seat. Harry noticed the annoyance in Hermione's face and offered his seat for her to take instead which she hesitantly accepted.

"Hello Ron," Lavender said with an odd quiver in her voice.

"Oh, hey," Ron nodded and gave her a grin. He had no idea how hard Hermione's glare was on his other side.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" Lavender asked eagerly. She brought her chair as close as it could possibly get to Ron.

"Yeah, hopefully-"

"-Well that's great because I-"

"-With Harry and Hermione."

Lavender's gleeful expression turned rather sour at the mentioning of Hermione's name. Ron was too busy playing with a loose strand on his robe to notice. Lavender repositioned herself a bit and glared at Hermione who gave her a sarcastic wave with a grin. Harry stood awkwardly with his eyes shifting from one person to the next, trying to figure out what was unfolding before him.

"Hermione was saying earlier in the week that she wanted to go visit Tomes and Scrolls for some new outside school reading," Ron continued, rolling his eyes at Hermione playfully. "So Harry and I decided we'd come with her and get some stuff at Zonkos, then go to Honeydukes, and then-"

"-Well that sounds like a lovely day planned," Lavender cut him off with a smile, though her eyes were still burning holes through Hermione who didn't appear to notice. "Hope I see you around town tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see ya," Ron said nonchalantly. He was playing with that little string again.

Lavender left to go sit with Parvati and Harry took the empty seat. Hermione sighed, happy to be rid of Lavender.

"Ron, have you noticed that Lavender has been talking to you a lot more often?" Harry asked, catching Hermione's eye.

"What? I thought she always talked to me this much," Ron said after pulling the loose thread out.

"You're so clueless Ronald," Hermione grumbled bitterly and left the boys to themselves.

She went out the portrait hole with her books in hand, meaning she was most likely going to study in the library in order to be alone. Besides Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the library was one of the few places Harry and Ron almost never followed her to unless they absolutely had to when she got into one of her moods.

"What's her problem?" Ron scoffed. He caught Lavender's eye for a second before she looked in another direction and blushed furiously. "And why is Lavender staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"

"Hermione's right," Harry laughed a little. "You really are clueless Ron."

Ron and Harry got up and left their seats to go get some food in the Great Hall.

"Girls are mental Harry," Ron said while going through the portrait hole. He turned his back and found Lavender staring at him again with a look of intense determination in her eyes. "Absolutely mental."

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**~A/N: Many thanks to my friend Megan who proof read for me as always. Please review and follow if you like the story so far! Have a lovely day! **


	4. Popularity

Chapter 4: **Popularity**

* * *

The trio set out for Hogsmeade the following afternoon (after dragging Hermione out of the library of course) and walked along the crisp autumn trail to the quaint town. Harry of course had to travel by invisibility cloak since he still hadn't gotten a signature from Uncle Vernon permitting him to go. Ron and Hermione were thankful to be traveling together; whenever just one of them went with invisible Harry they looked insane since they appeared to be talking themselves to the naked eye. Two visible and one unseen was a perfect formula for the three friends.

Harry, who took off his invisibility cloak when they arrived, and Ron stood against the shelves in Tomes and Scrolls while Hermione searched through book after book. She was getting serious about wanting to work with magical creatures and wizarding laws for them when she graduated from Hogwarts; the books containing information on her desired field of study in the school library were too basic and uninformative for her liking. Tomes and Scrolls, however, happened to have the exact variety of fact-filled texts Hermione was looking for.

Ron started looking through an old bin of wizard comic books with Harry when Hermione decided to take longer than expected. While looking through an informative encyclopedia entitled Magical Creatures of Britain Volume 4, a couple of fifth year Gryffindor girls walked in.

"There he is," whispered one of them.

"Harry Potter," sighed another happily.

"And Ginny's cute brother, Ron Weasley," the third said.

The three of them giggled and Hermione did her best to stifle a snort. Ron was looking through comics a seven-year-old would probably enjoy. Even Harry who had never seen a wizarding comic had gotten bored of them already and was looking at a book about famous Aurors and their adventures capturing servants of the Dark Lord. Hermione could understand why girls might fancy Harry with his fame and awkward charm, but Ron...

"He's so fit," the girl who complimented him before said again. "I can't believe Ginny won't ask him if he wants to be dating anyone."

"Yeah, she's so selfish. She's friends with Harry Potter and she has a cute brother and she won't introduce us to either one."

"It's so unfair."

Hermione looked up from her book and at Ron who was laughing hysterically now at the comic book. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him having the time of his life with something so simple. The girls continued their conversation.

"Wait, is one of them dating that Hermione girl who's always with them?"

"Ha! Like Harry Potter or Ron Weasley would date someone like her, she's too plain and boring!"

The three of them laughed and Hermione slammed the book shut. She stormed over to Ron and Harry and dragged the boys out of the store. Ron threw the comic book back and both he and Harry struggled against her overly aggressive grip.

"Hermione, what's this all about!?" Ron shouted.

"We're going to Zonkos," she said through gritted teeth.

"Erm, alright," said Harry with suspicion.

Hermione paced around the joke shop shortly after shoving the boys in there and tried to keep her mind off those ignorant fifth year girls. The words "too plain and boring" were still ringing in her ears. Hermione browsed through various practical joke items and came across a mirror which was supposed to distort the image of the viewer; however, this particular one was defective and on sale because it was completely normal. She played with her hair and tried to put it up in different ways than before to make herself feel more exciting, but nothing seemed to work for her. Hermione sighed deeply and jumped when she caught the reflection of someone behind her.

"Ron! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Hermione said while turning to face him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You seem a bit off right now." Ron got a little closer to her.

"Yes, yes I'm fine," she brushed her hair onto one shoulder and smoothed it out a bit. "Perfectly fine."

"Alright." Ron smiled at her. "Your hair looks nice like that."

"Th-thank you."

Soon after, the three friends left to Honeydukes and a few more shops before finally ending the day with some drinks at The Three Broomsticks Inn. Hermione noticed a lot more females there than usual. She, Harry, and Ron got a table to themselves (as far away from the girls as possible) and ordered some Butterbeers from Madame Rosmerta. Ron ate some of his chocolate bought at Honeydukes in the most piggish way possible.

"So," he said with a mouthful, "seems to be a lot of people at Hogsmeade today."

"Aren't there always a lot of students here on weekends?" asked Harry.

"Not as many as there are today. Lot's of girls too. Thanks Rosmerta," Ron said as the woman placed their drinks down on the table before them. "Erm, wait!" he called her back. "You gave me two drinks when I only ordered one."

"Oh, well it's from those girls over there."

Madame Rosmerta pointed at Lavender Brown and a couple of other Gryffindor girls with her at a table nearby. She giggled and waved at Ron with pink in her rather chubby, squirrel-like cheeks and he awkwardly waved back. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she chugged down her Butterbeer as fast as she possibly could to keep herself under control.

"I wonder why Lavender is being so nice to me," Ron said before sipping down his first drink. "I mean, I hardly do anything nice for her. In fact I hardly even speak to her."

"Well isn't it obvious Ron," Hermione grumbled hotly.

"Oh no," Harry muttered and took a drink.

He noticed that angry look in Hermione's eyes. After being friends with Ron and Hermione for six years, he could sense a fight about to erupt between them a mile away. This of course was one of those times.

"Isn't what obvious?" Ron plopped another piece of chocolate in his mouth and took a swig of Butterbeer. A sixth year Ravenclaw girl walked by and winked at him. She was swinging her hips from side to side in the most noticeable and sensual manner possible which even oblivious Ron couldn't overlook.

"You're...you're..." Hermione couldn't seem to find the right words to describe what was going on around him.

"I-I think what Hermione's trying to say is that some girls at school have taken a liking to you," Harry answered for her.

"Really?" Ron's face lit up. "You think Lavender fancies me then?"

"Of course she does," Hermione rolled her eyes. She paused for a moment. "Do you...do you fancy her back?"

"Well, I fancy another Butterbeer," Ron looked at his almost empty mugs. "You think if I give her a little more of the ol' Ron Weasley charm she'll buy me another round?"

Hermione frowned and left the table with fire burning in her eyes. She headed back into Hogsmeade herself leaving Ron and an awkward Harry behind at The Three Broomsticks. Ron growled to himself, "What's her problem?"

Harry had a pretty good idea what was eating away at her, but decided it wasn't his place to say it. Ron looked over at Lavender and grinned. He gave her a wink and a wave and she called Madam Rosmerta back to her and her friends. Soon enough, Ron got another Butterbeer placed before him.

"Ron, I don't think-" Harry began to say when a drink was placed before him as well. Rosmerta pointed to Romilda Vane at a table of Gryffindor fifth years where she was giggling and blushing just as Lavender was at the table beside them.

"Come on," Ron chuckled, "You have to admit this is pretty wicked."

Harry grinned and clinked his mug with Ron's before they drank down the sweet liquid. Being popular did have it's perks, no denying that. He looked outside the window and found Hermione going back into Tomes and Scrolls, slamming the door behind her. He could easily tell that was going to be a long, petty fight, a fight that Ron didn't even know he was in yet.

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**~A/N: Please review/follow if you're interested or you like the story so far. Thank you Megan for editing as always. Much more to come! Have a lovely day!**


	5. Lavender

Chapter 5: **Lavender**

* * *

Ron didn't miss a single chance to bask in Lavender's admiration for him the day following the trio's trip to Hogsmeade. He made it a point to wink, wave, and grin at her every time she came within ten feet of him. In response, Lavender blew kisses and made little hearts with her hands; a look of deep longing and desperation never seemed to leave her face. Hermione was absolutely sick to her stomach at the sight of all this. It had very quickly gotten to the point where she couldn't stand to be near Ron whenever Lavender was in the same room. The closer Lavender got, the further Hermione went; everything was all according to Lavender's grand scheme.

The only thing standing in the way of Lavender and Ron's blossoming love was Hermione, an obstacle which had proven to be easy to rid herself of. Her little plan did come with a price however. Parvati was just as tired of Lavender's overly flirty nature as Hermione was; growing tired of hearing "Ron this" and "Ron that" from Lavender, she left her best friend to find some new ones with her Ravenclaw sister and her circle of classmates. Lavender was only sad for a record of seventeen seconds upon finding out her abandonment until Ron walked by and gave her a wave and a little hair flip which brought her spirits up immediately.

On one particularly busy Thursday night, Ron had buried himself in the library with some other lazy Gryffindors to get a lecture/lesson about the charms lesson they had that day, led by Hermione of course, since they weren't paying attention. Harry had stayed behind in the common room to do some reading and studying of his own in his newly acquired potions book used by the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. He sensed Romlilda's eyes on him since he sat by the fire, but halfway through reading tips on brewing a successful cauldron of Babbling Beverage, he sensed another pair of eyes observing him.

Harry looked up and flinched when discovering those eyes had belonged to Lavender Brown, who was sitting a few feet away from him. Without breaking eye contact, she had gotten up and on her knees before Harry, looking up at him with a quizzical expression.

"Erm, hello Lavender," Harry scooted his chair away from her, but she crawled closer in response. "Can I help you?"

"Actually you can," she answered curtly. "Tell me Harry, is Ron interested in Hermione?"

"Um, I'm unsure..." Harry looked around for anyone who could offer him any kind of escape, but everyone was off doing their own thing. Even Romilda had taken her eyes off of him and had begun gossiping with friends.

"Then does Ron like me?" Lavender got so far into his face that he could feel her hot, eager breath fogging up his glasses a bit.

"Well, I-I'm unsure about that one as well-"

"-Could you be a dear and find out for me? _Pretty please?_" she cooed in a way that made Harry's skin crawl.

"W-well, I don't know if he'd tell me...but I guess I could try," he finished the latter part of his sentence quickly when Lavender's eyes darkened.

"Oh thank you Harry!" she gave him a tight squeeze which he did not return. "Don't worry, I'll get you and Romilda together for drinks sometime soon, since you're too shy to ask her out," Lavender whispered and gave him a little wink before walking away.

Harry looked at Romilda who blushed and giggled loud enough for him to hear when she looked away. His eyes shifted to Ginny who was quietly studying by herself. She caught his eye for a moment and gave him a sly smile before returning to her reading. Harry couldn't help but grin.

* * *

Harry couldn't find a smooth way to bring Lavender into conversation, mainly because Hermione was with them almost always. Eventually he got tired of hearing Lavender hissing at him in the hallways and sending notes during class that he blurted out the question first thing in the morning to Ron during breakfast a few days after her request. Unfortunately, he didn't take into account that Hermione was with them before opening his mouth to speak.

"Ron, do you fancy Lavender?"

Hermione dropped her spoon into her porridge and fished it out with a hint of rage burning in her eyes.

"Lavender?" Ron looked over his shoulder at Lavender who was sitting alone with her usual longing expression on her face. "I don't know, she's nice I guess. I know she has a thing for me, but...I don't kno-"

"Oh will you just answer the question!?" Hermione shouted. "Yes or no! It's not that hard Ronald."

"_What has gotten into you?_" he jumped a bit once hearing her raise her voice. "You've been acting strange since Hogsmeade, I thought it was that time of...well you know, but now I'm _pretty sure_ that's not the case."

"I've been _completely_ fine thank you very much," Hermione's voice was exceptionally higher than usual. "Just...stressed from classes and...taking it out on you. Sorry," her voice faded.

Harry's eyes shifted uncomfortably between them. He was feeling a bit guilty since he was the one who brought up the subject of Lavender in the first place.

"Well then..." Ron cleared his throat, "Lavender..." Ron looked at Hermione who was staring in the opposite direction. He straightened up and scratched his head. "I guess, maybe...sometime...I could go out for drinks with her...later."

"Brilliant," Harry said dully.

Hermione got up from her seat and left, shouting that she was going to study in the library halfway to the door of the Great Hall. Ron went back to eating his breakfast as if he hadn't noticed her departure. Harry glanced back at Lavender who gave him a thumbs up while mouthing "Yes?" He mouthed the word "Drinks" in response and nodded. Both he and Ron cringed when she squealed loudly behind them. Harry got up from his seat when he caught Romilda approaching their table.

"Have fun with Lavender then," Harry said quickly before running after Hermione.

"Oh, I will," Ron said, though he didn't sound like he was going to have any fun at all with Lavender Brown.

* * *

**~A/N: Please follow or review or both if you're interested in the story so far! Thank you Megan for reading over my chapters before I publish them. Much more to come! However, since spring break is ending soon I'm going to be limiting updating to once every couple or days or so, I'm still figuring out scheduling. Have a lovely day!**


	6. Drinks

Chapter 6: **Drinks**

* * *

Ron bounced his foot around and nervously stared all around The Three Broomsticks the following night. Harry had told Lavender that Ron agreed to go out with her that way Ron didn't have to, but refused to wait with him for her at the town pub since he figured Romilda would be there waiting for him as well. Asking Hermione to accompany him to his date with Lavender was completely out of the question, so he was left by himself, surrounded by strangers.

Ron hadn't caught sight of Hermione outside of classes since she stormed out of the Great Hall that morning. At this point Ron was so used to Hermione giving him the cold shoulder (for reasons unknown to him) that it didn't affect him as much as it did when they were younger. He had learned over the years to stay out of her way until she was ready to talk to him; space away from each other always seemed to heal all wounds.

After twiddling his thumbs for a good ten minutes since his arrival, Lavender showed up for drinks. She swung her hips side to side on her walk to his table and flipped her hair when she stood before him. Ron was too spaced out thinking about when Hermione was going to talk to him again to notice.

Lavender cleared her throat.

"Um, Ron?" she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Oh, sorry," Ron stood up and put his hand out for her to shake.

Lavender ignored the gesture completely and flung her arms around him by surprise. Ron awkwardly patted her back until she decided to let go. She flashed him a big toothy grin which he forced himself to return.

"So, I was thinking that after we get some drinks we can have a little walk around town and maybe go to Honeydukes so you can buy me some low fat fudge and then take me to the hairdressing salon because my curls are a mess and then-"

"Whoa, slow down Lavender," Ron gulped. "I thought we were just going to stay here and have a few drinks..."

"Well, drinks only takes a half hour, I wanted to spend a lot of time with you tonight Ron," Lavender pouted her lips.

"Um...alright then," Ron smiled a little.

Lavender squealed and held his hand across the length of the table. Just then, the door opened and in walked Ginny, Luna, and Hermione. Ron's eyes shifted from Lavender to Hermione who didn't notice his staring. Lavender noticed and cleared her throat loudly to regain his attention.

"Sorry," he smiled nervously at Lavender. "I was just trying to remember if I um, told Ginny to send our mom some candy from Honeydukes for her birthday."

"Oh Ron, you're so thoughtful!"

Lavender moved her chair over so that she was directly next to him. She started rambling about how excited she was to be with him and how happy she was when he agreed to go out for drinks with her. However, Ron's attention went back to Hermione, who caught his eye and looked away shyly. Ron knew that she wasn't ready to speak to him for whatever reason, but he smiled at the fact that she acknowledged his presence. And that's all that mattered.

* * *

Ron was exhausted by the time he got back from Hogsmeade with Lavender. She took them all around town and didn't stop talking the entire time, not that he minded since he didn't have anything important to say anyways. The ginger trudged into his room and threw himself on the bed, burying his freckled face into his pillow.

"Have a fun night?" Harry asked as he walked in after him. Ron said something incoherent into his pillow which Harry pretended to understand. "Well, that's er, good?"

"I mean, it wasn't bad," he rolled over. "I just...I don't know what it is Harry," Ron sighed and sat up. "She's really nice, and it's nice that she likes me and all...but I don't know."

"Did you snog her?"

"Nah, there wasn't really a right time to do so. Plus she wouldn't stop talking, which was fine I guess. Oh hey, saw Hermione at The Three Broomsticks."

"Oh really," Harry said suspiciously. Hermione had told him that she was spending all her time in the library to get ahead on her Advanced History of Magic reading. "And just what exactly was she doing there?"

"I don't know, she was spending time with Ginny and Luna I guess."

"Interesting." Harry made a mental note to interrogate her about this later. Ron laid on his back and looked at the ceiling.

"Harry," he said, "why does Hermione get in these bad moods? I mean, it's not '_that time_' all the time. Or _is_ it?"

"I don't know," Harry sighed and sat on his bed.

"How come it's always me though?"

"I don't know."

"She never gets mad at you, why is that?"

"I don't know."

"Well don't you know _anything_ Harry?"

"I don't-"

Ron threw a pillow at his face and Harry did the same back until they doubled over laughing at absolutely nothing as friends do. Once they caught their composure, Ron asked again, "Do you think Hermione will start talking to me soon?"

"I don't know."

"Harry."

"Sorry."

* * *

**~A/N: Hope you all are interested in the story so far and will follow and leave me some reviews! Only one more day of spring break for me and then it's back to school, boo. That means less frequent updates, but I'm thinking of updating twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. Thanks Megan for editing. Have a lovely day!**


	7. Win

Chapter 7: **Win**

* * *

Ron paced nervously around his empty dorm with his broomstick in hand. It was only a half hour until the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch game, and he was a nervous wreck. Ron couldn't think of anything to calm himself down before the game. He didn't want to mess up like the last couple of times. All of that cockiness he was feeling at the beginning of the season had been diminishing with each game. His skills hadn't pulled through for him as they did during tryouts earlier in the year, possibly because his mind was somewhere else on the field lately. After taking a few deep breaths and wiping off his sweaty palms before putting on his gloves, Ron eventually gathered the strength to leave his room and venture to the Great Hall. Upon getting there, he peered inside from the doorway, and with one final deep breathing exercise, Ron stepped into the hall.

He couldn't help but think that all eyes were on him as he passed by the tables. Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs wished him good luck while Slytherins hissed and sneered at him; some of them even threw food at him. Ron sat down across from Harry in his uniform and Hermione who was wearing their house colors. Luna was on his right, proudly sporting a large, homemade lion headdress. Hermione didn't look up from her oatmeal upon his arrival, making him feel all the more terrible.

Hermione hadn't seriously spoken to Ron for about a week. Whenever she did happen to talk to him she only said two words at maximum: "Excuse me" when he blocked her path and "Shut up" when he tried confronting her. Ron eventually got tired of trying to win her over and ended up spending a bit more time with Lavender in order to spite her and because Lavender was willing to talk to him unlike her.

"Good luck today Ron," Luna said calmly.

"Thanks," Ron replied lifelessly. No matter how many people wished him a good game or patted his back, he couldn't find the confidence he needed to play this game.

"You'll do fine Ron," Harry smiled at him. "You're an excellent keeper."

"Don't choke today Weasley," Goyle gave him a shove as he passed while Crabbe put his hands on his neck and made gagging noises. Strangely enough, Malfoy had nothing to say. He didn't even dignify Ron with a sneer of disgust. Draco just kept walking and didn't look back.

"Don't listen to them Ron," Harry said.

"I don't think I can play today," Ron said quietly. "You've seen me at practice, I've been doing horribly," he sighed. "And I've been doing even worse on the actual field..."

"You'll do okay Ron," Luna smiled. "You'll beat those Slytherins for us."

"What if I don't?"

"Then we're still your friends," Harry smiled reassuringly.

Lavender skipped over with her Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck and scarlet flags in hand. She wrapped her arms around his neck and Hermione narrowed her eyes at her food.

"Good luck today Rony-kins," Lavender sang and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Make me proud today!" She gave him a tight squeeze and bounced over to Parvati sitting nearby.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he groaned when she was out of earshot.

"Ron," Hermione said. "You're going to do great, I-erm, _we_ believe in you," she smiled.

Ron grinned at the sound of her voice, but it still wasn't quite enough to gain his confidence back. Harry noticed this and took something from his pocket.

"Here," he placed a vile on the table with his hand wrapped around it. "For luck."

"Felix Felicis," Ron gasped. "Harry, I can't, not for this."

"Too late," Harry turned the vile into his chalice and pushed it to Ron. "Drink up."

"Well..." Ron eyed the pumpkin juice.

"You can't be serious," Hermione scoffed. "Ron that's cheating."

Without listening to Hermione, he gulped down the drink in a single chug and wiped his mouth, a fire now burning in those eyes. He grinned widely and stood up abruptly from his seat. "Let's do this," he pounded his fist on the table.

"Unbelievable," she grumbled under her breath and left in a huff with Luna gliding behind without a care in the world.

"Come on Harry, let's kick some Slytherin ass," Ron raised his broomstick in the air and Harry did the same before walking to the Quidditch field, ready to dominate.

* * *

Ron had literally blocked every throw from Slytherins and together he and the team slaughtered the green and silver beasts. Although the entire team performed extraordinarily well, Ron's talent as a keeper stood out among the rest.

The Gryffindors carried him out from the locker room and all the way to the common room, singing him songs of praise. Harry and Hermione trailed behind on the way there and pushed their way to the front of the crowd.

"I can't believe you gave it to him," Hermione hissed at Harry, crossing her arms under her chest. "I can't believe he drank it."

"Hermione, did you see me?" Ron asked excitedly, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I did awesome! I saved every throw!"

"Because you took a potion," she sneered. "You only got that way because you had an unfair edge." Ron took his hands off her.

"Hermione, that potion gave me confidence, not Quidditch skills."

"No, I'm pretty sure it enhanced your abilities."

"Actually um-" Harry tried to interject.

"Shut up Harry," Ron pushed him aside and gave Hermione a hard stare. "Why do you have to ruin everything for me?"

"Ron I didn't actually give you the potion," Harry got between them. "Hermione, he won that game off of pure skill alone, no enhancements whatsoever."

"B-but he did so well," Hermione stammered. "I thought-"

"No, it's alright Hermione," Ron interrupted. "It's nice to know that you don't have any faith in me."

Hermione opened her mouth so respond but the words just couldn't find their way out. Ron shook her head at her and allowed himself to be pulled away into the center of the still cheering crowd. He continued to get pats on the back and words of praise, but none of it mattered since he only wanted to hear it from one person. Nevertheless, Ron kept a smiling face and allowed himself to feel proud of himself for his accomplishments on the field since victory was all the more sweet knowing that he didn't have anything to enhance his abilities.

Harry and Hermione continued to stand in the front of the crowd. She hadn't spoken a word since Ron left them. To break the silence, Harry poked Hermione's side.

"What?" she snapped, but allowed her expression to soften after seeing Harry jump. "Please tell me you were lying when you said you didn't pour the vile in the pumpkin juice."

He flashed her the bottle of Felix Felicis and grabbed it from him, examining liquid as best she could from the tiny vile.

"I put my hand far enough into the glass with the cap on the vile to make it look like I spiked the drink," Harry said.

A wave of guilt poured over her as her eyes shifted from the potion to Ron who was laughing with Seamus and Dean, still the center of attention in the room. She was then pushed aside as Lavender made her way to the keeper. Without any warning, Lavender kissed him, long and hard. The crowd erupted in cheers as Ron kissed her back after a second of hesitation. Hermione held back her tears.

She pushed her way out of the crowd and ran out of the common room. Harry went after her, but didn't catch up until turned the corner to find her sitting alone at an empty stairwell. Five little birds fluttered and circled around in front of her.

"Just a charm," she smiled a little, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying her eyes out. "It's quite simple you know..." Harry didn't say anything and sat down next to her. "Does it hurt? Having to see Ginny with Dean? I know you have feelings for her...I know the way you look at her..."

Harry felt his heart sink upon remembering Ginny and Dean's on and off again relationship. He put his arm around her and she rested her head against his shoulder. Before Harry got a chance to respond to her, Ron came stumbling in with Lavender on his arm.

"Ooops, looks like this place is taken," Lavender giggled. She grinned smugly at Hermione and gave Ron a kiss on the cheek. She then whispered, "I'll meet you up stairs around the corner Ron," and ran away giggling with a spring in her step.

"Hey," Ron said with a dopey grin. He wiped the lipstick off his face while staring intensely at Hermione.

Hermione stood up and birds suddenly began to fly faster. They circled faster, and faster, and then went after Ron tried to escape as fast as he could. His back slapped the wall and the birds rammed themselves in a perfect inch-thick outline around his defensive stance.

"Could've killed me," he gasped.

Ron rounded the corner to another staircase and ran up to Lavender who was waiting to appreciate him some more. Hermione sat back down next to Harry and burst into tears. He wrapped his arm around her again, hoping that it was providing some form of comfort.

"Getting back to your question," Harry answered, "It feels a lot like this."

* * *

**~A/N: Looks like spring break has finally come to a close for me, which means that I'm not going to be updating everyday as I have been for the past week, boo. I'm thinking of updating on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from now on, that way I have the school week to work on the story little by little in between homework. Anyways, follow to keep up with Tiny Heart and please review! Have a lovely day, and look forward to this coming Thursday!**


	8. Apologies

**A/N: Sorry this chapter may be a bit rough. School has gotten in my way since spring break ended. Nevertheless, I promised I'd update on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and I intend to geep that promise. Without further ado, here's the next chapter of Tiny Heart.**

* * *

Chapter 8: **Apologies**

"Violently" became the adverb that described Hermione's actions since she witnessed the kiss between Ron and Lavender after the Quidditch game. Hermione stormed in and out to classes _violently_. Hermione studied _violently_ in the library. Hermione shoved everyone aside _violently_ when they asked what was wrong. Hermione wanted to hurt Lavender, _violently_. Hermione wanted to cry, _violently_.

There was a clash of anger and despair battling out within her heart until both merged into simple depression. Hermione lost the will to shoot her hand up to any question asked in class, the will to stand up for herself when Malfoy teased her in the halls, and especially the will to bicker with Ron on any subject when he graced her with his presence. In short, she had just given up.

The worst part of a Ron and Hermione fight was that everyone was involved whether they liked it or not. If one of them caught you talking with the other then you became dead to them. Poor Neville had just asked for some parchment from Ron in potions class and Hermione was as cold as she could be for the week following. The only person who was used to the tension among friends was Harry who had been dealing with the cold feuds since they were in their first year together. Although it was painful to sit through, Harry knew this tension between them would end eventually. No matter how many times Ron or Hermione claimed to dislike each other, they always found themselves drawn back to one another in the end.

But after a week of seeing Hermione in this depressed, cold state, Harry's usual hope for the better between them was flickering. And strangely enough, it wasn't Harry who was most effected by this silent fight. It was Ginny Weasley.  
Hermione had abandoned her usual library seat and traded it for her desk in her room where she could get some real alone time since Lavender and Parvati were almost never inside. While flipping lifelessly through her potions textbook to study for an upcoming exam, Hermione jumped and almost threw her textbooks off the bed when Ginny burst into her dormitory without warning.

"G-Ginny, you scared me!" Hermione caught her breath.

"Sorry, I've just...sorry," Ginny said while stepping into the room completely "Sorry for everything."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, shutting her textbook. She tried to catch Ginny's eye, but the redhead was bowing her head to the floor.

"It's my fault, that Ron's with Lavender..."

"Oh, well I don't care," Hermione said quickly and opened her book for study. "If you don't mind I need to prepare for Professor Slughorn's next exam-"

"Hermione can you just give me a chance to explain why it's my fault," Ginny sat at the foot of her bed.

"I told you I don't care-" Hermione held her open textbook closer to her.

"_Hermione_."

"F...fine."

Ginny explained to Hermione that she had gotten into a fight with Ron earlier when he criticized her on her dating life with Dean. They argued until Ginny ended the fight by reminding Ron that he didn't understand because of his lack of experience with dating or snogging for that matter. She claimed that it wasn't a big deal that she makes out with Dean from time to time because Harry did the same with Cho. To make things worse, she pointed out that even Hermione had been kissed by Viktor Krum, so even she knew what it was like. In the end, Ron was left pissed off at his sister even more than he was before the confrontation and startled that Hermione had lost her lip virginity before he did.

"Well...well I don't see how it's still your fault Ginny," Hermione said after the explanation.

"You don't get it...Ron's been put in a bad mood because of me and he'd taken it out on everyone before Lavender, especially you because...well because..."

"Because I annoy him the most," she said with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"No...you just rile him up the most," Ginny smiled half-heartedly. She got up from the bed and proceeded to the door until Hermione grabbed her arm to stop her. "What?"

"I just want to let you know that I'm not mad...in fact, Ron with Lavender had been an excellent wake-up call."

"It has?" Ginny said skeptically.

"Yes, I've been out of the dating game for quite some time now, there's plenty of good looking boys within our house, oh hell, even outside our house!" she said with a wicked gleam in her eye, worrying Ginny. "If someone like Ron can get a mate, then why can't I? I mean, I'm not hideous. I think my personality is fairly tolerable. I can get a date, I can get hundreds of dates!"

"Um, that's the spirit?"

"Right you are Ginny!" Hermione shoved the redhead out and slammed the door before she got another word out.

She threw her potions textbook off her bed and kicked her other books aside. Hermione grabbed her trunk and dug through the contents until she found her beauty products lodged at the bottom. Hermione spread out her makeup, haircare products, and an issue of a fashion magazine she was going to use for reference for special occasions. She flipped through the model photo shoots, her head filling with ideas until she got to an article entitled "_Make Them Crazy: How to Get Guys to be Putty in Your Hands_".

"Hermione, Hermione!" Ginny banged on her door. "What are you up to? Hermione come on, please open up!"

"Thanks for the talk Ginny, I think I know exactly what I have to do!" she shouted at her through the door.

It was time to study some new material for tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: Really, really sorry for this chapter with the shortness of length and possible errors I might not have caught. I will be editing further this weekend when I finish my ACT testing. Megan didn't get a chance to edit, but she will later when she gets the time (that's probably why this chapter is so bad). The next two chapters are much better and longer than this one though, trust me. Anyways, have a wonderful day!**


	9. Confidence

**A/N: Apologies for not posting last night's chapter, I passed out after a long day and didn't set my alarm to wake up and edit. So that's why I'm posting two chapters today in return. Tiny Heart will be updated on Fridays, and Saturdays, however I'm cutting Thursdays out. Sorry for the inconvenience, but thank you for bearing with me!**

* * *

Chapter 9: **Confidence**

"Where the hell is Hermione?" Ron asked the following morning in Charms class. "She's always here twenty minutes early, she's later than we usually are Harry. Where is she?"

"I don't know, haven't seen her around the common room," Harry answered.  
"Seriously? This is so unlike her."

"Why do you care so much?" Harry smirked.

Before Ron could answer, Lavender walked in and pulled up a chair to their table. She was sitting in Hermione's usual spot next to Ron. Lavender grabbed Ron's hand and interlocked their fingers together, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting anything," she said.

"No, nothing at all," Ron said while ignoring Harry's uncomfortable look. Lavender stared hard at him with battering eyelashes until the bulb flickered on in Ron's head. "Oh, right," he gave her a quick peck and she giggled in her usual annoying fashion.

Flitwick made his way to the front of the class (standing on the pile of books on his desk to make himself taller) and announced the lesson plan for the day while the students settled down. Half-way through explaining the next unit of level six charms, the door flew open which caused everyone to jump. Everyone gasped when the person who caused the disturbance walked in.

Hermione strutted through the door passed the front of the class, causing every single jaw to drop. She had her hair straightened and put her makeup to good use. Her robe was undone which revealed her crest vest with a very low tank-top beneath it in order to show off her cleavage she normally covered. The grey skirt that normally went past her knees now reached just barely above her mid-thighs. It was as if everyone was staring at a completely different person.

"Sorry I'm late professor," she said casually, making her way to the back of the room where her usual seat was.

Hermione took one look at Lavender at grinned sarcastically, sitting on her other side. Ron overlooked his girlfriend completely to get a better look at the new Hermione. Harry couldn't help but do the same.

"What?" Hermione said when she caught them staring.

"Nothing, nothing," they quickly said in unison.

Harry stared down at his notebook, feeling a bit embarrassed for looking at her that way. Ron, however, couldn't pry his eyes off her. Actually, none of the boys in the class (other than Harry) could.

"Something to say, Ronald?" she whispered past Lavender who's eyes were burning at the two of them on either side.

"Bloody hell Hermione," he mumbled then jumped when Flitwick cast a charm on an apple to make it explode in order regain his class' attention.

Those three words were all Lavender needed to hear to make Hermione her ultimate enemy. Hermione noticed this of course, and couldn't be more thrilled.

* * *

All eyes continued to remain on Hermione as she walked throughout the course of the day. No matter what class or house, every boy in the school couldn't help but sneak a peak as she passed with her usual books in hand. There was something different about the way she walked. Her head seemed to be much higher and her steps much bolder. The new Hermione was not one for slouching and blending in.

Although she and Ron still weren't on good terms, he couldn't help but find himself wanting to be closer to her, even when Lavender was by his side. Unfortunately for him, Lavender noticed this as well.

Ron darted towards his usual table with Harry and Hermione as soon as Transfiguration got out, but he was stopped when Lavender pulled him by the collar.

"Won-Won...why don't we sit alone today...just the two of us..." she suggested darkly.

"Well, actually I was going to sit with-"

Lavender cut him off by wrapping her arms around his neck and shoving her tongue in his mouth, not caring who saw them. After a couple seconds of snogging, she broke the kiss and grinned sensually at him.

"S-sitting alone is good," he stammered with a dreamy grin.

"Yay!" she kissed his cheek and dragged him to the Gryffindor table furthest away from Hermione.

Ron was still able to catch a glimpse of Hermione from time to time at their new spot, but made sure Lavender didn't catch him while she blathered on about her friends and their gossip. Meanwhile, Hermione was enjoying her newfound attention with Harry sitting across from her.

"Now tell me," Harry said after taking a gulp of tomato soup, "What exactly caused you to erm...to dress up like this?"

"I just wanted to try out a new look, to get some attention. Is that so wrong?" she asked innocently.

"Attention from who?"

"Well, anyone really. I'm tired of blending in and feeling, well...inadequate. This look has really helped my self-esteem. I'm not that bushy haired invisible girl anymore. For the first time in my life people are actually looking at me, and not just because I answered a question or spoke out of turn in class. I'm actually being noticed by people, by boys! Can't you be happy for me Harry?" Hermione sighed. "I mean, I just want boys to like me...that's all..."

"But boys have liked you Hermione...boy's notice you..."

"You're just lying now. I mean come on, you've seen them today! Ro-...guys haven't been able to keep their eyes off of me since charms class. I feel...I feel beautiful!"

"But you've always been beau-"

"Save it, I don't want to hear it."

"Well, alright. I'm going to go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Anywhere from here. Your admirers have been getting a bit antsy."  
Harry took his bowl of soup and headed towards the common room to eat alone. As soon as he lifted himself away from his seat, dozens of Gryffindor boys fought to take it. Hermione couldn't help but smile, though she was a bit uncomfortable with this amount of attention even though it's what she wanted. Harry looked back and saw the smile on her face, figuring that she would be able to handle anything that was thrown her way. As long as Hermione was happy, he was happy. But, as long as she was confident, Ron was miserable.  
He started to tune out Lavender's gossiping and his face melted into a frown.

He had a dozen guys blocking the view of his best friend.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, it's not edited as much as I had hoped, but it's the best I could do on such short notice. It's been a really busy week for me, sorry. Anyways, there's another rough chapter coming up soon. Thanks for bearing with me on this story so far! Much more to come, so much to write and so little time sigh.**


	10. Cormac

**A/N: Second part of my double chapter special tonight since I missed Friday's deadline! Please excuse the lateness and roughness of the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10: **Cormac**

Despite Hermione's new look, she was still the same old Hermione on the inside when it came to her studies. She still managed to study in the library every day and get all her work done. However, the library atmosphere had changed since her makeover. Hermione found more people sitting around her usual table, more guys to be specific. Most weren't even studying, the majority of them were just staring at her with a book open in front of them that remained on the same page for a half hour. She didn't mind this however since they weren't bothering her or keeping her from her work. Harry, on the other hand, was as uncomfortable as could be.

With the absence of Ron, the trio became a duo in the library. Harry's presence didn't stop the guys wanting to be around Hermione, much to his dismay. He noticed his popularity increasing even more than it already was with Hermione's change in wardrobe as well. Classmates were stopping him in the halls more often for trivial matters such as how the weather was or how challenging an exam they just got out of was. Harry wasn't a fool. He knew the only reason why people were paying more attention to him now was because of Hermione, and it was really starting to push his buttons. Especially every interaction with Cormac McLaggen.

Harry already disliked Cormac with a passion, however that plain dislike blossomed into complete despise for his being since he was the one who bothered Harry the most whenever he had the chance. From corning him in the common room to corning him in the bathroom, Cormac always found a way to get a word in with Harry about Hermione. And the library was no exception.  
Harry left Hermione alone to get a book pertaining to advanced cures and poisons, resulting in every seat around their table to be taken by some fellow Gryffindor males. Instead of ambushing Hermione, Cormac, decided to corner Harry against the shelves.

"Potter," he hissed. "Potter I need you," he pressed himself against Harry against the shelf.

"Ugh, too close Cormac," Harry scowled and shoved him aside. "What could you possibly want this time? I don't know what Hermione got on the charms exam or what her favorite muggle band is. Leave me alone."

"I want to know if she's interested in me."

"Well how should I know?" Harry reached past him and grabbed the book he was looking for. "We don't talk about that sort of thing."

"Oh _come on _Potter, you have to know _something_ about her. Looks like Weasley is out of the picture, and I don't need to worry about you. So then, who does she have her eye on?"

"First off Cormac, Ron is still our friend. Second, I'm just as much of a threat as Ron is, if not more because I actually listen to her. Finally I don't bloody know and I don't bloody care! If you're wondering if she likes you so much then why don't you ask her yourself?"

Harry noticed the gleam in Cormac's eyes and instantly regretted his last sentence. He shoved Harry aside and told everyone at Hermione's table to beat it. Harry grumbled under his breath and went to sit alone somewhere far, far away from Cormac.

"Oh, um, hello Cormac," Hermione faked a smile.

"Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead," she mumbled.

Cormac took his seat and scooted as close to Hermione as possible. With every inch forward he went, Hermione went one back until she got to the end of the table and was forced to deal with him invading her personal space.

"So, really liking this new look you have here," he put his hand on her shoulder until she quickly brushed it away. "Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime, maybe get some drinks at The Three Broomsticks or something."

"Erm, thanks, but I have a lot of studying to do," she used her books to create a wedge between them.

"Well, when won't you be studying?"

"I'm always studying Cormac."

Hermione spotted Ron coming into the library with Lavender trailing behind him like a little lost puppy. He sat down at a table close to them and she caught him taking a couple sneak peaks of her.

"Actually Cormac, maybe when I finish studying, we can go get some drinks together at The Three Broomsticks," Hermione said loud enough for Ron to hear. Ron looked down at an open book and scowled, making her grin out of spite.

"Great! So when will you be finished studying?"

"I'll get back to you," she mumbled while grabbing her belongings and rushing out. Hermione made it a point to swing her hips by Ron who was still scowling, this time at Cormac instead of the book he never intended to read in the first place.

* * *

"Listen to him," Ron grumbled the following day in the library with Harry and Neville Longbottom. "Bragging about Quidditch even though he's not even on the team." Ron's eyes narrowed at Cormac who was sitting with Hermione along with a couple other followers lurking at a distance. "Why's he hanging around Hermione so much anyways? She didn't agree to go out with him directly and they're not exactly the best of chums, right?"

"He's just talking with her Ron," Neville said quietly. "I mean, lots of guys talk to Hermione, why is Cormac any different?"

"He just thinks he's so great, and for what reason? He doesn't even do anything but sleaze around girls."

"Sounds to me like you're a bit jealous that he's spending time with Hermione Ron," Harry smirked.

"Shut up I am not," Ron grumbled. "I have Lavender, I don't care who she decides to spend her time with. I could care less..."

Ron stared at Hermione through the window Harry and Neville's heads provided. Though he hated seeing Cormac hit on her in the most obnoxious manner possible, he took some comfort in knowing that she didn't seem the least bit interested. Just because Hermione agreed to go get some drinks with him at some point in time didn't mean that she particularly liked him. Ron figured she must have agreed to go for drinks with him in order to shut him up. But even still, it was odd to see Hermione with any guy other than himself and Harry.

"Cormac cut it out," Ron heard Hermione say. Cormac was playing with a lose strand of her hair. "I'm trying to finish writing my essay for an Advanced History of Magic."

"You're just so pretty though."

Cormac's hand went on Hermione's thigh and Ron stood up abruptly, knocking books down from his shared table. The students around exchanged glances. Hermione stared up at Ron from her seat. Cormac took his hand off of her.

"What are you staring at Weasley?" he sneered.

Ron didn't get a chance to say anything since Lavender rushed to his side, much to his displeasure given his current state.

"Ron, are you okay?" she held his hand.

"Yeah, completely fine," he kept his gaze on Hermione who was looking back at Cormac now that Lavender arrived at the scene.

"So, about those drinks Cormac," Hermione said, "Are you free tomorrow?"

That was all Ron needed to hear. With those words, he pulled Lavender out the library with a forced grin. She did her best to keep up with him as he rushed over to god knows where.

"Where are we going?" Lavender asked, a bit shaken from his spontaneous actions.

"Come on Lavender, let's go have some fun," he smirked at her and led her into an empty broom closet. Doing anything with Lavender was better than seeing Hermione happy with a guy like Cormac.

Anything was better than seeing Hermione happy with anyone other than him.

* * *

**A/N: That's it for the weekend chapters! Need to use this day off I have on Monday to get some more writing done. Hope you enjoyed the last three chapters (though they were roughly edited. Please stay tuned for next Friday and Saturday where more chapters will be published. Have a lovely day!**


	11. Evening

**A/N: Apologies about the lack of updating after the chapter, until then enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 11: **Evening**

Hermione fastened a silver hoop into her ear and took a hard look at herself in the mirror. The girl who looked back had on obnoxiously large accessories, dark shadowy makeup, ironed out hair, and a little red dress that was far too revealing.

"What am I doing?" she whispered.

"Hermione?" she heard someone say along with a knock.

Hermione got off her stool and went to answer her dormitory door. Luckily for her she got the entire room to herself since Lavender and Parvati were having a girls night down in Hogsmeade. However, no girls in the room didn't guarantee no interruptions.

"It's Ginny."

Hermione opened the door but froze when she saw who was beside Ginny. She scowled at the sight of him and brushed some of hair behind her ear, feeling a bit awkward when it got tangled up in her earring.

"Well, what do you two want?" she grumbled.

"I just wanted to see you before you went off on your date with Cormac," Ginny answered then jutted her thumb out at Ron. "I don't know what _he's_ here for though."

"I need some notes for Transfiguration," Ron said nonchalantly, trying his best to look unaffected by Hermione's appearance for the night.

"Do you two want to come in?" Hermione didn't sound welcoming at all.

"No, I have to go sort things out with Dean tonight," Ginny sighed and left them both. "You look great though. Try not to kill each other," she waved before disappearing into the crowd of Gryffindors back in the common room.

Ron and Hermione locked eyes for a few seconds before she stepped aside to allow him in. He entered and sat on her bed, his shoulders hunched over and his fingers interlocked together with his arms resting on his knees. Hermione wordlessly went through piles and piles of her notes at the side of her bed while Ron got a real look at the new Hermione. He never noticed how soft-looking her legs were, or how shiny her hair was, or how curvaceous she had become over the years. Hermione finished rustling through her pieces of parchment and handed over the notes to him.

"Here," she said quietly.

"Thanks."

Hermione went back to her dresser and messed with her hair although it was completely in place. She needed something to do to keep her hands busy, doing nothing would only double the awkward tension between them after all. Ron got up and made his way to the door. With a deep sigh he turned around and looked at her reflection.

"You're really going to go through with this?" he asked. "With Cormac?"

"So what if I am?" she turned to face him.

"Come on Hermione, I've listened to you go on and on about what a creep that guy is for years, and now you're going out with him for drinks looking like...like that?" Ron gestured at her dress and tried not to stare.

"It's just drinks, why do you care so much?" she crossed her arms under her chest.

"I don't care! I'm just wondering what's gotten into you lately...why aren't we talking anymore, Hermione?" he leaned against the doorframe. "Why do we always get into these stupid little arguments?" Ron shook his head.

"I don't know," Hermione said quietly. "Because we're stupid," she giggled, making Ron grin. "Because we're best friends."

"Yeah, yeah we are," he stood up straight again. "I don't want you to keep Cormac waiting," Ron did his best to sound sincere, although the thought of those two together made him sick to his stomach.

"Oh, Cormac, right," Hermione mumbled, taking one final look at herself in the mirror.

"You don't need to do that anymore." Hermione looked back at Ron. "You look nice," he smiled at her.

Like Ginny, Ron disappeared into the crowd of busy Gryffindors running around the common room. Hermione brushed her hair over her shoulder with a tinge of pinkness in her cheeks. She already knew that this simple talk with Ron was going to be the best part of the evening.

"It's just drinks," she said reassuringly to her reflection. "How bad can it possibly be?"

* * *

Hermione rested her head on her hand and stirred her finger lazily on the table as Cormac went on and on about himself. Her drink was half way gone and Cormac had gone through almost three pints of Butterbeer already. The worst part was the the night was still young in Hogsmeade.

"Hermione, Hermione," Cormac waved his hand in her face to get her attention. "You alright? You look like you're somewhere else."

"Oh, do I? Sorry..." she gave him a weak grin before taking a sip of her drink.  
"Where are my manners?" Cormac leaned forward with a wide grin. Suddenly Hermione's mind flooded with memories of Gildiroy Lockheart. "Here I've been blathering on and on about myself, tell me about yourself, Hermione."

"What do you want to know?"

"If you don't mind me being too forward, what was it like growing up in a Muggle family?"

Hermione flinched at the sound of his question, but not out of offense. No one, not even Harry or Ron had ever bothered to ask her about her life before Hogwarts. Suddenly, Cormac was looking like a different person to her. She spoke about her life growing up as the daughter of dentists, her family vacations, and her non-magical school experience. Without warning, Hermione found herself pouring her heart out to a boy she hardly knew. Aside from family and school work, she started to divulge in the loneliness she suffered all her life until Hogwarts. She was known as the "weird girl" in all her classes, the "bookworm", the "bucktoothed weirdo", the "freak". Never in her life before Hogwarts did she think that she would have friends and people who cared about her well-being, that she would be praised for her academic achievements instead of mocked, or that she would truly be able to be comfortable in her own skin. Hogwarts indeed was a blessing.

Before she got on to the loneliness she still felt from time to time when she got into pointless squabbles with certain company, she caught herself revealing too much for a first official encounter.

"I'm sorry," she smiled at her drink shyly, "You must think I'm boring."

"On the contrary my dear," Cormac smiled warmly and put his hand over hers across the length of the table. "I've never met a witch more interesting than yourself."

Hermione looked up at him, then at the view outside the window behind his head. She saw a flash of ginger hair bobbing through a crowd outside the bar. Her eyes darted back to Cormac who was looking at his hand over hers.

"Let's...let's get out of here," Hermione said, giving his hand a squeeze. A wild grin spread across her face.

Without giving him a chance to comply, Hermione got up and dragged him by the hand outside the back of the bar, around where the trash got thrown out. Cormac smirked at her and took the lead, pressing her up against a wall. He rested his forehead against her own and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"You've become very beautiful over the years, Hermione," he whispered.

Cormac bridged the gap between their faces with half-lidded eyes and pressed his lips against her own. After a second or two of hesitation, Hermione found herself kissing him back. To her surprise, she felt warmth rather than the repulsion. Her arms flung themselves around his neck and her fingers ran through his curly locks. He reduced the space between them even further and placed a hand on her shoulder, delicately pulling down her dress strap. Before she could protest, Cormac's lips trailed down to her neck and his pelvis pinned her completely against the grimy brick wall. She tilted her head and tried to pry him off, but he ignored her efforts and continued to suck on her collarbone much to her displeasure. The warmth was gone.

"Cormac..." she mumbled. "Cormac...Cormac!" she gasped loudly when he began to pull down the other remaining strap with one hand while the other trailed up towards her breast. "That's enough...please, take me back to the castle."

Without a word, Cormac took his weight off her and wiped her lipstick off his mouth with his sleeve. Hermione fixed her dress and did her best not to look disgusted from what just happened. Cormac caught the look of displeasure on her face and took his jacket off. He put it around her shoulders as a gesture for an apology before taking her hand in his. She gave his hand a squeeze and a signal for forgiveness. Together they walked back to the castle in a comfortable silence.

While they passed through the village, a certain redhead standing in the cold with his hands full of sweets caught sight of the couple leaving town. He exhaled deeply and headed back inside the candy shop, planning to eat away the loneliness for the rest of the night.

* * *

**A/N: I'm truly sorry that I took so long to update, school took up a lot of my time and since it's summer I don't have an excuse to not be updating regularly. I assure you that I have about eight more chapters typed up that need to be edited, meaning that I will be updating more regularly. Again, very sorry for the long wait. Hopefully you're all still interested in the story. More to come soon, I promise, along with some editing of the earlier chapters.**


	12. Observations

**A/N: Glad to be back in the writing game. Enjoy.**

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Chapter 12: **Observations**

Harry lazily stirred around his breakfast porridge, wishing he wasn't sitting alone at his usual table. He didn't bother to get his friends out of bed since he was still sensing some sort of tension between the two and didn't want to be between it. However, he was regretting his decision of sitting alone since Romilda Vane was inching towards him with all her friends with every minute that passed by. _Please don't come over here_ Harry thought. _Please don't come over here. Please don't come over here. Please do-_

"Is this seat taken?"

Harry looked up and grinned when he realized it was Ginny. Even with her hair up in a messy bun without a trace of makeup, she still managed to look positively radiant to him.

"Go ahead," he gestured towards the seat across. "What brings you um, here?" Harry cursed himself for his awkwardness.

"Well, the Great Hall does tend to have breakfast from time to time Harry," Ginny grinned at him while filling her plate. "No," she paused when she caught something behind him. "Please don't come over here. Please don't come over here."

Harry turned around and caught sight of Ron walking towards the Gryffindor tables with Lavender on his arm. It never ceased to amaze Harry how Lavender always looked like she was having the time of her life with Ron while never noticing the lack of interest on his face. The couple strolled past without even acknowledging them with a simple "hello". Ginny sighed in relief as they took their seats a table away.

"Those two couldn't be anymore disgusting together," Ginny sneered. "What is Ron even thinking being with her?"

"Who knows," Harry sighed before taking a spoonful of porridge to the mouth. "Here comes Hermione," he said with a mouthful (it wasn't until after he said it that he realized what a pig he must have looked like to Ginny). "With...Cormac," Harry grimaced. He still didn't like this idea of the two of them together. It just felt...unnatural.

Hermione and Cormac were direct opposites of Ron and Lavender. Instead of Hermione having a look of adoration on her face, the expression she wore around Cormac was very plain and hard to read while Cormac looked like he had won Triwizard Cup with that large grin he bore alongside Hermione. They too did not stop to greet Harry or Ginny.

"Interesting," Ginny muttered, keeping a close eye on Hermione and Cormac who had sat a little ways apart from Ron and Lavender.

"What?" Harry shifted positions to meet her gaze at the couples.

"Hermione makes an effort to be around Cormac whenever Ron's around."

"Well, they are seeing each other, right?"

"I don't know if they're serious or not, but whenever Ron isn't around she hides from Cormac."

Harry thought back on Hermione's sudden behavior for the past week since she went out with Cormac. She continued to dress in her more appealing manner (which still gave her much attention from boys all around school) and began hanging around Cormac more often. However, now that Ginny mentioned it, Hermione was only spending time with Cormac if Ron was in the same vicinity. He thought her hiding behind corners and other people when Cormac was roaming the hallways was just his imagination. Ginny was on to something, and Harry wasn't losing his mind.

Both of them turned back around as soon as Ron and Lavender started shamelessly snogging in the dining hall. Hermione briskly passed Harry and Ginny again without a word again. Harry looked back at Cormac who locked eyes with him.

"Oh hell," he grumbled as McLaggen made his was towards them.

"Well, see you later," Ginny saluted to him with a smirk.

"No Ginny, please," Harry begged, wincing a bit as Cormac started to walk a little quicker towards him.

"Have fun."

"Don't go!" he hissed loudly, but it was too late. Ginny had already joined Luna at an empty Ravenclaw table with Dean and a couple more friends. Cormac stood before Harry. "Hello Cormac," he sighed.

"Potter, let me ask you something," he took Ginny's previous seat.

"Sure Cormac, you can sit down," grumbled Harry.

"Granger, how into me is she?" Harry's mind honestly went blank. He opened his mouth to answer but Cormac interrupted, "I mean, like she's really fit and all, but she doesn't seem that into it. Like, when we're making-out-"

"Please, stop right there," Harry winced. "What did you want me to answer exactly?"

"Is Hermione actually into me?"

Harry slouched and rested his head on his hand. He looked behind Cormac and saw Ron and Lavender cuddling. Not too far away was Ginny and Dean who were sharing a kiss, making him sick to his stomach. Neville, Seamus, and Luna were too far away for him to rescue him. He was completely trapped with Cormac.

"Look, I really don't kno-"

"-That's bull. Come on Potter, is Granger into me or not?"

"Her name isn't 'Granger', it's Hermione. And no offense, but I really, _really_ could care less about where you stand with her. Cormac, instead of asking me, why don't you ask her yourself?"

"I've tried, but whenever we're alone she just keeps sticking her tongue in my mouth and I-"

"Nope, nope don't want to hear this," Harry got up and left, taking his bowl of porridge with him. "Good luck with her Cormac."

Cormac cursed under his breath and didn't bother to chase Harry. Instead his eyes darted around the Great Hall for Hermione. He caught her talking with Ron a table away (with Lavender glaring at her presence of course). That's when it clicked. He knew exactly how to get an answer.

* * *

Ron somehow managed to escape Lavender that evening and studied in the library by himself. It was a very "un-Ron" thing for him to do, but he needed some excuse to get away from Lavender for the night. As much as he liked her, a little Lavender could go a long way. He flipped lazily through his _A History of Magic_ textbook and regretted the excuse he used to get out of hanging out with her in the common room.

After two minutes from scanning the text, Ron was already starting to doze off, until someone slammed their palms on the table.

"Wh-what?" he jumped then scowled. "Oh, it's you."

"I got a question for you Weasley."

"Go away Cormac." Cormac shoved aside Ron's books and slammed close the open text Ron was attempting to study from before sitting down across from him. "Didn't you hear what I just sa-"

"You're close with Hermione, right?" Ron's glare hardened. "I've been noticing that she seems to speak to you an awful lot. So I've been wondering-"

"There's nothing going on between us!" he said quickly.

"I've been wondering, does she mention me, ever?" Cormac began to pick through his teeth with his nail, ignoring what Ron said.

"You're joking, right?"

"Does she?"

Ron mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and stomped away from the table despite Cormac's shouts for him to come back. He stopped in the doorway of the library and allowed people to shove past him while he stared into space. Ron had one of two options: go back to the common room and deal with Lavender clinging on to him, or stay in the library and talk about Cormac's love life with his best friend. He looked at the staircase leading up to common room, then behind at Cormac who was leaning back on his chair until he fell out of his seat and got up, pretending like that never happened. Ron rolled his eyes and decided to take his chances with Lavender.

He stomped back up the stairs and climbed through the portrait hole, bracing himself for Lavender. However, she was was no where in sight much to his surprise. In fact, there was hardly any sixth years hanging around the common room that evening. There was only one sitting all by herself with a tower of books looking like they were going to topple over at any given moment. Hermione.

She looked up at him and gave him a small smile before going back to her studies. Ron went to her table and straightened up the books before taking his seat.

"So, where is everyone?" he asked.

"Hogsmeade having some sort of party at The Three Broomsticks," she answered, not taking her eyes off her parchment while writing furiously.

"Occasion?"

"It's a Friday."

"Right," Ron rested his elbows on the table and watched her write for a few seconds. "Hermione, are you and Cormac...dating?" Hermione didn't answer. "Because I think he really likes you. And he's been annoying me about it, no doubt he's been doing that with Harry too."

"We've been on one date, I don't know if you'll consider that to be 'dating' though."

"Look, I've been watching you with him and I can't tell if you're into him or not. No one can. I don't really care...or anything, but can you do us all a favor and stop leading the poor git on already?"

"Like what you're doing with Lavender?" Ron went silent. "Because, as I recall, you never answered whether you liked her or not back at Hogsmeade, yet here you are going out with her. But you don't see me on your case about whether it's ethically correct for you to be 'leading someone on' as you think I'm doing with Cormac. Now if you'll excuse me Ronald, I need to finish my Advanced Arithmancy assignment before it gets too late because I plan on going to Hogsmeade later with everyone."

Ron got up and started to make his exit, but halfway towards the portrait hole he turned back and went to stand over her.

"I like Lavender," he said, as if he were trying to reassure Hermione and himself on his feelings.

"And I like Cormac."

And those were the only words needed to start up another silent fight between Ron and Hermione once more.

* * *

**A/N: Got more chapters outlined and I can't wait to publish them. Still need to edit chapters 1-10 however, that may take a while. Don't know how regularly I'll be updating too, please just bear with me. Hope you're following the story and remember to leave me a little review, feedback is always appreciated!**


	13. Escape

**A/N: Okay this chapter contains some...well not really graphic stuff, but stuff with Hermione involving an attempt at getting under her clothes. Warning, I guess?**

* * *

Chapter 13: **Escape**

Ron and Hermione weren't on speaking terms again. They avoided each other as if each was infected with the plague. Harry found himself bouncing between them as he usually did when they quarreled, much to his inconvenience. However, he noticed this fight was slightly different than most. Normally Ron and Hermione liked to make a big deal about not speaking to one another, but this was the most quiet fight they've ever been in. Usually the friends would sit on opposite sides on the table and ignore each other completely while secretly glaring at the other throughout the day. This was not one of those fights. Harry noticed this time around that Ron and Hermione were making an effort to act civil with each other when he spent time with them. They laughed and calmly spoke to each other in his presence, as if nothing had happened between them. However, at the end of the conversation both Ron and Hermione parted their separate ways, and Harry was reminded that things weren't normal between them still.

Not only was their behavior with him different, but their behavior with their "significant others" had changed as well. Ron didn't look like he was being forced to hang around Lavender anymore and Hermione didn't look like she was in internal pain around Cormac anymore. Harry couldn't tell if they were genuinely starting to like the people they were dating, or trying to put on a show for everyone as if they had something to prove. Either way, he didn't like it and wanted his old friends back.

Strangely enough, Harry found himself alone with Hermione more than Ron much to his surprise. Ron and Lavender were almost inseparable most of the day while Cormac graciously allowed Hermione space from him time to time. Taking advantage of this break, Harry sat with Hermione alone at an empty library table, who was willing to talk rather than study for once.

"I just don't see what you see in him Hermione," Harry sighed.

"'Him'? Him who?"

"The fact that you have to ask who I'm talking about kind of seems like you're not all that into him Hermione," he chuckled.

"Oh...you mean Cormac. Well...I mean...he's nice." Harry burst out laughing and Hermione scowled. She kicked him to get him to quiet down but it only made him laugh harder.

"Next you'll be saying he's 'compassionate' or 'understanding', or a 'decent human being'," Harry said between laughs. "What are you..." his laughter subsided. "What are you doing Hermione?"

"Balancing my school work and social life," she answered casually.

"Come on Hermione, why are you going out with Cormac, what ever happened to Ro-"

"Shut up!" she shouted, causing other students to jump and look at her. Madam Pince shot a glare her way, but Hermione didn't quiet down. "Maybe I'm going out with Cormac because he can be a decent person. Maybe because he listens to me. Maybe because he actually likes me Harry, did you ever think of that?"

Madam Pince shushed her and Hermione's cheeks turned pink. She grabbed her bag and began to make her exit before she let out another outburst.

"Hermione," Harry whispered while grabbing her arm before she escaped. "I'm serious. How long are you going to keep this up?"

Without a word, Hermione brushed Harry off and stormed out of the library, looking for trouble. She grumbled to herself and did her best to keep her temper under control; bad things tend to happen when young witches and wizards who haven't mastered magic completely lose their tempers. Hermione turned the corner and smacked right into someone, knocking her back and causing her to drop her belongings.

"Oh, sorry about that Hermione."

She looked up and her face flushed. It was Ron who had knocked her over. He knelt down to gather her books he knocked out of her bag with her, but Hermione jumped up and took off without saying anything to him. He shouted after her and cursed when he lost sight of her in an upcoming crowd of fourth years. With a deep sigh, Ron kept her books under his arm and made his way to the common room to leave them in her dormitory. There was no use in chasing after someone who didn't want to be caught.

Hermione raced through the halls with no destination in mind, as long as she ended up far, far away from Ron. She went as far as her legs would take her before she ran out breath from sprinting, ending up in an empty courtyard under the astronomy tower. Unable to keep her emotions in tact, Hermione let a few tears slip and conjured a bubble around her mouth so she could scream her heart out without being heard by anyone. The worst part of the manner was that she didn't know why she was crying, all she knew what that she needed to. For whatever reason, Hermione needed this.

She wasn't alone for long. After several minutes of crying, he arrived. He tapped her on the shoulder and she released the charm after flinching. Hermione blushed and wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her robe. Of all people the people to see her like this, it had to be him.

"What's wrong, babe?"

"C-Cormac..." she stammered. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I was just coming back from doing some astronomy homework up in the tower, Venus is present during the day today. What's wrong love?"

"N...nothing. I'm just under a lot of stress, that's all," she smiled weakly, impressed that he sounded genuinely concerned for a moment.

"Stress?" he smirked devilishly. "Well I know how to take care of that."

Cormac brushed away another tear that had slipped down her cheek with his thumb then lifted up her chin. He pulled her into a gentle kiss which she found herself returning without any hesitation. Somehow, she felt she needed this too. Cormac pulled away for a second to breathe and led her into the shadows of the courtyard, where no one could see them. He leaned in and met her lips once more, though she hesitated for a second to return his affections this time. After what felt like the longest three seconds of her life, Hermione found herself giving in to Cormac. Her eyes darted open when he slid his tongue inside her mouth. Hermione broke the kiss and gasped.

"Just relax," he said smoothly before resuming where she interrupted.

Hermione found herself doing as she was told and released the tension in her body. Cormac put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her jawline, letting a hand wander down to her chest. Hermione let him grope her for a second before swatting his hand away. She felt him smirk against her skin and his hands dropped down to her waist instead. Cormac began attacking her neck with his mouth while subtly slipping his hands to her skirt waist band. Hermione felt his fingers curl against her skin and shivered at the coldness of the air as he exposed an inch of her flesh. That was going too far.

"Cormac," she said sternly, brushing his hands away. The disgust was back.

He stopped sucking on her neck and shoved his tongue inside her mouth to keep her quiet. His hands pulled her skirt down further and she began to squirm to slow him down. Hermione shoved him away and scowled.

"Cormac stop! I don't-" Cormac put his hand on her mouth to keep her quiet.

"I thought I told you to relax," he said darkly.

This time he meant business. Cormac pressed his body hard against her's and kept his hand over her mouth. He slipped her robe off with one hand and grinned, noticing that her tank top had slipped down far enough for him to get a good view of what lied beneath. Hermione silently panicked, remembering that her wand had been in a loophole in the right sleeve of her robe. Cormac stopped toying with her skirt hem and allowed his free hand to slip under her vest and undershirt, uninvited. The harder Hermione squired, the more pressure Cormac put on her. If she didn't think of a plan now, he wouldn't let her go until he was finished having his way with her. She had to come up with something quick before he stole her innocence.

Just as his hand started tracing patterns on her stomach, it hit her. Hermione stopped squirming and relaxed like Cormac had ordered. He noticed this of course and took his hand off her mouth.

"Ready to be a good girl?" he whispered against her neck, making her twitch slightly in repulsion.

"Y...yes," she lied.

Cormac grinned and pressed his lips against her's again. Hermione willingly penetrated his mouth with her tongue and ignored the disgusting feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach. It would all be over soon. His other hand found itself under her clothes and she let her right hand slip down his chest to his thigh. Cormac pulled away.

"Now you're talking," he chuckled.

Hermione watched as he closed his eyes and kissed her neck again. She did her best not to squirm as his hands went behind her back to fiddle with her bra strap. With the utmost concentration, Hermione sensually trailed her fingers up his thigh. She felt that smirk press against her skin again and grinned herself. Almost there. Up and up her hand went, until she finally grabbed it. Cormac gasped, knowing what was going to come next.

"Hermi-"

"Stupefy!"

Hermione had successfully grabbed his wand out of his pocket and caused him to fall back with his own weapon. Cormac flew back into a stone column then onto the concrete. He was too surprised to say anything to her or get up from his sprawled spot on the ground. Hermione brushed down her vest and brought her skirt back to it's original position. She grabbed her robe from the ground and brushed off the dirt after putting her wand in her waistband where it should have been in the first place.

She stepped over to him and threw his wand onto his twitching body. Hermione scowled at the pathetic sight of him. He really was disgusting. Cormac looked up at her with clear fear in his eyes.

"Never tell anyone about this, _ever_," she said darkly. "Or else I'll cast another spell and make sure you don't wake for days, or at all for that matter. Got it?"  
Cormac gave her a trembly nod and Hermione left him on the ground without looking back. She went back inside the castle and trudged up the moving staircases to the common room. It didn't hit her until she was half way up about what could have happened if she hadn't thought of taking his wand. Or if the spell somehow missed or didn't work. No one would have heard her. He could have gotten away with it, and chances are she wouldn't have told a soul. Not even Harry or Ron.

_Ron_.

The staircase jerked to the left and she stumbled, causing her to lose her train of thought and climb to the top again. She jumped through the portrait hole and scanned the room as if she had never seen it before. Hermione's hands trembled, remembering that she had to see Cormac regularly for the rest of her time at Hogwarts. There really was no escape.

She climbed the stairs to her dorm and jumped when she found someone in there besides Lavender or Parvati. Ron was sitting on her bed and reading one of her books.

"Oh, sorry," he looked up and put the book aside. "I was returning your things that you dropped and ran away from, and I found this," he flashed her the cover of a book entitled Greatest Quidditch World Cup Games in History. Hermione remembered that she had bought that book over the summer so she could talk to Ron about something he was interested in for once. "Sorry if it seems like I was snooping."

Hermione walked up to him wordlessly and flung her arms around him in a tight embrace. Ron jumped and hugged her back though he was confused about what was happening here.

"Hermione, you okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she mumbled into his shoulder and closed her eyes. This is what she really needed.

"You're..." Ron sighed and smiled. "You're so weird sometimes Hermione."

* * *

**A/N: Okay I know nothing about astronomy so I don't know if Venus is ever visible during the day, but that's probably the least of your concerns. Anyways, that was a bit painful to write, probably a bit painful for you to read. But of course Hermione could find a way out of that situation, she's Hermione for Christ's sake. Like she'd be taken advantage of that easily. Remember to review! I'm almost up to twenty reviews and I'm so excited!**


	14. Request

Chapter 14: **Request**

Harry was pleasantly surprised to see Ron and Hermione acting as friends again instead of acquaintances who didn't enjoy each other's presence anymore. He also noticed a lack of Cormac around the castle which made things even better. Harry had no idea what caused all of this, but he was thankful that whatever happened had happened, and there was no more tip-toeing around with friends. Everything was back to normal. Almost.

Ron was still going out with Lavender, much to Harry and Hermione's dismay. Since Ron was still with Lavender, Hermione was a bit weary of what she said to Ron from time to time, careful not to come off as being too cold or too flirty. Meanwhile, as a way of extending the olive branch of friendship, Lavender voluntarily sat with Ron when he was with Harry and did her best to engage in conversation with him between flirting with her boyfriend. Harry was able to stay civil by tuning out every word Lavender spewed that didn't concern him and by sticking a fork in his leg from time to time when she became unbearable.

Lavender was gracious enough to share Ron with Harry, but certainly not Hermione. She didn't have to compete with Harry after all, to her knowledge at least. The more Lavender saw Hermione with Ron, the more she clung to him when she got the chance. It wasn't until she saw Ron put his arm around Hermione while they were joking around that she decided to discuss the nature of their relationship with him.

That night in the common room Lavender caught Ron before he went up to the boys dormitories with Harry.

"Rony-kins, can I speak to you for a moment?" Lavender cooed, pulling him down the stairs with her before giving him a choice to comply.

"Sure..." he dragged out the word until they were at an empty corner. "What's this all about?"

"Ron," she said sternly, making Ron gulp. He assumed whatever she had on her mind was serious if she didn't use a pet name for him. "Describe your relationship with Hermione please."

"Um, well she can be overbearing, critical, and even a bit annoying at times. But other than that she's cool, harmless, nice I guess. Why?"

"Do you think she's pretty?"

Ron paused for a moment, looking over Lavender's head.

"She's got...nice skin."

"Ron, I don't like that you're always with her. She keeps taking away our 'us time'," Lavender did a cross between a whine and a sigh that made his eye twitch subtly.

"Well, Harry takes away our 'us time' too. You don't have a problem with him."

"That's different, Harry's a _boy_. I have to worry when you're with Hermione because sometimes one thing can lead to another when boys and girls spend so much alone time toge-"

"What are you getting at?" Ron straightened up, a bit uncomfortable.

"Do you have any feelings, whatsoever, for Hermione?"

Lavender looked into his eyes with a hard stare which he returned. Ron scratched his head and broke off his gaze.

"What are you getting at?" he asked again.

"I don't want you spending so much time with Hermione anymore."

"She's my friend thou-"

"Ron, I don't want her to fall in love with you or anything and have you break her poor, precious heart because of your feelings for me." Lavender put her hands over his heart and tried her best to look genuinely concerned for Hermione's well-being, even though both of them knew she was only saying this for her personal wellbeing.

"But she's my fri-"

"Fine, you can choose her. But if you do, you won't get any of _this_..." she placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed his neck softly for a second, "Anymore," she whispered against his skin, making him shiver.

Ron placed his hands on Lavender's waist as she continued to suck on his neck, not caring who saw in them common room. It was worth it to keep her stalled while he thought about giving one of his best friends the cold shoulder with no explanation. Kisses from Lavender? Or banter and fights with Hermione? His eyes wandered to a nearby table where Hermione was talking to a couple of seventh years in their house and giggling between conversation. She didn't meet his eye, and Lavender's hands were slipping down his chest delicately.

"Okay," Ron tightened his grip on Lavender.

"Yay!" she threw her arms around his torso and gave him a quick kiss before skipping off to her dormitory, happy that she had gotten her way yet again. "Good night Won-Won!" she called with her voice echoing through the room.

Hermione stopped mid-sentence and met Ron's eye. She gave him a polite wave and a grin. He turned around and went upstairs to the boys dormitories, not giving her anything in return. Something he would have to get used to.

* * *

Hermione continued to wave and smile at Ron whenever she met his eyes throughout the course of the week, but stopped when he kept turning his back on her. She tried sparking up a conversation whenever she found him alone, but was rebuffed with a quick one word response and a sudden need to do something else whenever she came around. Annoyed and a bit hurt, Hermione stopped interacting with Ron all together since that's what he was indirectly getting at with ignoring her so coldly.

Harry was back to being the mediator and a counselor for Hermione, who at this point didn't mind since he had the played the roles for five previous years already. He had plenty, if not too much, experience for the job of "professional shoulder to cry on".

"Who does he think he is?" Hermione grumbled, viciously stirring her porridge one casual Thursday morning. "Here I am trying to make up for being such a bad friend and he has the _nerve_ to blow me off like this?" she slammed her silverware down sending chunks of her breakfast flying towards Harry.

"Honestly I have no idea what happened." Harry was just as confused as Hermione was. He noticed Ron spending less to absolutely no time with Hermione while maintaining a normal friendship with him. He knew Hermione didn't set him off either because he would have heard Ron complaining like Hermione was now before bed for the past few nights if she had done anything to alarm him. As he analyzed the past week more, he noticed that Hermione's name didn't come up at all between them, which was odd since her name usually came up in every other conversation since their first year at school together.

"I just...I hate him sometimes!" she banged her fists on the table, letting her anger get the best of her in public. A very un-Hermione thing to do.

"You don't hate him," Harry said calmly. "You just hate that he can be a total ass sometimes," he grinned at her, earning a small smile back.

"I just wonder Harry...does he really not like me that much?" her voice cracked a little, chocking back some tears that were trying to find a way out of her system.

Before Harry got a chance to comfort her, the mail came. Owls flooded The Great Hall delivering mail and great gusts of wind throughout the vicinity. However, one bird stood out among the rest during this particular mail session. A great hawk glided past the owls and swooped down with a piece of parchment clutched in it's threatening talons. To the surprise of no one, it dropped that scrap of mail on the hands of Harry Potter in a swift motion and continued on it's way out through the window past the other birds.

"Who's it from?" Hermione asked, trying to peak over the table to see the letter. The volume of the room dropped significantly, awaiting Harry's reply. Harry glanced over the letter and tried to contain the shock on his face. "Well?" she asked again.

"No one," he said quickly, putting it under his hands. "You were saying, about Ron?"

"Come on Harry, let me see the letter." Hermione reached across the table for the parchment, but Harry pulled it away in a flash and shoved it in his mouth. Hermione looked at him as if he were deranged. "You know...you could've used magic to get rid of that."

Harry chewed the paper a bit and left without Hermione alone without a word, making a mental note of an upcoming engagement and wondering how he forgot that he was a wizard for two brief seconds.

* * *

Ginny Weasley ran up the stairs and burst into Hermione's dormitory, making the poor girl jump in fright and fumble her books.

"_What has gotten into you?_" Hermione asked shrilly. "Everyone's been going _mad_ lately."

"You're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow," she said quickly.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you," Ginny winced, about to burst out with the information she just obtained. "I promised Harry I wouldn't tell you," she sighed.

"Tell me what?" Hermione patted the bed and Ginny rushed over to take a seat beside her.

"Look, all I can say is that a friend of Harry's, that you know quite well, requested that he sees you tomorrow night at The Three Broomsticks, to catch up."

"So...someone who I've met before, wants to go on a date with me tomorrow night?"

"Well, it's only a date if you want it to be one. The parchment said that he wanted to 'catch up with you', whatever that means." Ginny picked up Hermione's books for her and placed them in a neat pile on the floor. "Oh if only I could tell you," she groaned.

"Can you at least give me a hint?" Hermione pleaded. Ginny got up from her seat and walked to the door.

"Let's just say...it wouldn't be a bad thing if you made tomorrow night a date. Be at Hogsmeade by seven." Ginny left Hermione's room before she spoiled anything else.

Hermione couldn't help but feel giddy that someone wanted to willingly spend time with her, unlike other friends of hers. She figured that Ron was busy with Lavender anyways, she wasn't doing anything wrong. Hermione tossed and turned the entire night, searching her memory for any old friends she hadn't seen in years, but none came to mind. The more she thought about who this mystery man was, the more anxious she became for her "appointment" as she called it for now. On Friday night she slipped on her most form fitting red dress and didn't feel self conscious in the slightest about showing off her legs and cleavage. At least Cormac left her with self confidence about her outwards appearance.

After saying goodbye to Harry, Hermione grabbed her coat and headed down to Hogsmeade to meet her mystery man for the evening. However, when she arrived to the tavern at seven she remembered that she had no idea who this boy was. For all she knew this could've been a prank Harry was unknowingly involved in. She started to fidget at the doorway, regretting her decision to accept the invitation until someone called her name.

Hermione stepped further into The Three Broomsticks and found him waving to her at a table for two with a flickering candle in the middle. She couldn't help but smile and feel relief when she saw him there.

"Oh," she brushed some hair behind her ear, "It's you."

* * *

**A/N: Think you know who it is? Take your best guess when you review! I hope it's not obvious. Sorry to leave you on a cliff hanger. I'll be updating soon hopefully so don't worry. The next chapter's title is going to give it away completely. Remember to follow the story and leave something in the reviews!**


	15. Krum

**A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews! From here on out I'm going to be thanking everyone who actually does review my story every couple of chapters or so. Starting from the very first people, thank you Sleepwalkingluna14, Vlaovic, Fayre Amore, HPMudblood, JustAnotherPotterFan1999, RaucousLaughter, TeamCedric, Looking For Something New, and all the guest reviewers as well.**

**Thank you to RavenclawAnubis and Mina Arellano for your guesses, but peacock33 and yenny-1411 were right. The title of this chapter gives it all away. Sorry it's a short chapter. Enjoy and see you at the bottom.**

**Hope you all like the new cover as well.**

* * *

Chapter 15: **Krum**

_The more he reread the letter, the more unbelievable it became. It's been almost three years, and he's choosing now to meet with him? Harry paced all around The Three Broomsticks in anticipation for the meeting. He couldn't understand why he was so nervous. After all, it was Ron who had the man-crush on him a few years back, not him._

_The door swung open with a BANG and the temperature instantly dropped. Heads turned and the murmuring began. _What on earth could someone like him be doing in a dump like this?_ they all thought. That is, until they saw him saunter over to the famous Harry Potter in the very back of the room. Figures._

_"Harry Potter."_

_"Viktor Krum."_

_There was no reunion hug or any smiles. Only a tense, awkward silence. Almost as if they were still champions at the Triwizard Tournament years ago. Krum cleared his throat and sat before Harry who was doing his best to avoid his dark eyes. Though he was older and stronger than he was in his fourth year, he still felt rather small in the presence of the Bulgarian seeker._

_"I suppose you are wondering why I have contacted you," Krum said, eyeing his note Harry was clutching in his hands._

_"Well, considering that we haven't spoken at all since the end of the tournament, yes. Yes, I'm a tad bit confused."_

_"I am going to be in the U.K. on business," Krum said curtly. Harry was going to divulge into a clearer reason, but the look in Krum's eyes told him to keep his mouth shut and nod politely instead._

_"Okay, well what's that have to do with me?"_

_"I wanted to know...is Hermy-ow–excuse me," he cleared his throat, "Is _Hermione_ free tomorrow night for drinks?"_

_Harry hesitated before answering. He thought of Ron and his obvious attraction to their friend, but remembered that he was dating Lavender and was being a complete ass most of the time to the both of them lately. Ron wouldn't mind. And if he did then he deserved a little bit of a jolt for all of the inconsistent mood swings he was putting them through. Besides, Hermione could use a friendly...or _sort of_ friendly...face at the moment._

_"I suppose, I could ask her to see you..." Harry answered quietly._

_"Thank you so much Potter," Viktor smiled slightly and reached across the table to shake Harry's hand, which was the most friendly he had ever been with the boy. "But, could you please not tell her that it is me who wants to see her? I want her to be surprised."_

* * *

"Viktor Krum," Hermione grinned at him. "Wow I haven't seen you since...since the tournament! Wow," she laughed a bit nervously and hoped he wouldn't notice the pigment growing stronger in her cheeks.

"Please, sit down," he pulled her chair out like a gentleman. Hermione gained her composer and took a seat. "You look more lovely than when I last saw you, _Hermione_," he annunciated her name, savoring every syllable.

"I-I can say the same to you-erm, you've gotten more handsome I mean. A-and your accent is better, um, more clear I mean because it wasn't bad, there's nothing wrong with your accent and...and...I-I'm sorry I'm so flustered right now for some reason. I must look like a fool to you right now," she hung her head and let her hair fall in front of her face.

"It is cute," he grinned at her. "My accent is still a bit rough because of most of my time is spent in my homeland, but I have been practicing on my annunciation skills, to be more clear as you said. And do less 'I vould's and 'I vant's. I cannot speak very fluently yet, but it is progress," he sighed.

Hermione smiled and nodded, not knowing what to say. Krum, who was more awkward than her, did his best to move along the conversation by asking about her school life and studies. She answered curtly and kept smiling. Hermione knew that he was only asking her about school to be polite. After asking her about her O.W.L.s from last year, Hermione decided to interrupt and ask him a question of her own.

"Viktor, why are you here?" Viktor raised an eyebrow and Hermione caught herself quickly. "N-not that it's not a pleasant surprise or anything but um, you're not here for me, a-are you?"

"I am here in the U.K. because our chaser for Bulgaria is getting married to an English woman. I decided to stop by and pay you a visit."

"Yes but, why?"

"Do I have to have a reason for taking out a pretty girl out for drinks?" he smirked, causing Hermione to expel an awkward snot-giggle in response to flattery.

"Oh God," she mumbled under her breath before taking a swig of butterbeer before she made another strange sound.

"Before we continue, Hermione. I must know," Viktor's face hardened as he straightened up. "You and...your friend with the red hair and freckles...are you two seeing each other? Romantically?"

"Nope," she grinned and rested her head on her hand. "I'm completely available."

"Then," Viktor raised his glass and lightly tabbed it against her own on the table, "let us continue."

* * *

Hermione practically glided into the common room at the end of the night. The only people sitting around at such a late hour were the people waiting for her. Harry who was sitting on the couch with Ginny asleep with her head on his shoulder, and Ron who was sitting away from the two of them on the stairs.

"Ginny," Harry whispered and squeezed her hand, "Hermione's back."

"Yay," she muttered and got off of Harry. "'Mione you're back so late." Ginny slurred. She staggered up but fell over a second later flat on her face. "Tell me how it went when I'm awake," she yawned and made herself comfortable on the floor.

"Okay," Harry scooped her up in his arms, cursing himself for feeling his knees buckle. What kind of a guy couldn't carry the girl of his dreams in his arms? "Time for bed," he kept his voice from shaking as best he could. "Night Hermione, glad everything went well."

Harry passed by Ron on the stairs as if he weren't there. Hermione fell back on the couch and started laughing. She couldn't help but feel happy that someone wanted her company after the awful week she had been put through. Ron watched her and clenched his fists. She wasn't allowed to be this happy without him. He pushed back his hair and walked up to her.

"Hey," he sat at the arm of the couch. "What's got you out so late?"

"Oh, nobody," she sighed.

"He must be important if you're willing to break curfew. Who is it?"

Hermione sat up and patted down her hair. Ron was looking at her with cold, hard eyes. A look he usually reserved for Malfoy, now it was being used against her.

"Why do you care?" she asked a bit smugly, detecting a hint of jealousy she planned to play on.

"Because I'm your friend."

"Oh," Hermione laughed bitterly. "You're my _friend_ now? You're only my friend when Lavender lets you off her little leash," she stood up from the couch and shoved him aside. Ron grabbed her arm and she wiggled out of his grip. "You're pathetic. Do you really think that I'm okay with being treated this way? You think that I'm okay with having you play the hot and cold game with me all the time?"

"I'm sorry Hermione," he groaned. "You're just all over the map and I don't know how to–"

"How to what? Speak to me like a normal human being? Like a normal friend?"

Ron darkened his glare. Hermione scoffed and stormed over to the staircase. She was all over the map? He was the one changing his mood with her almost hourly! Ron caught up with her again and grabbed her arm.

"I don't know what has gotten into you lately, Ronald," she spat back at him. Ron let go of her arm hesitantly and she continued, "But I want to let you know that I'm happy. Even though you've been the _biggest ass in the world_ to me lately, I'm happy. And I don't need you," she said coldly and walked up the stairs. "Talk to me when you're ready to stop being Lavender's bitch."

Ron opened his mouth to say something back, but caught himself realizing that saying anything at this point would only make things worse between them.

"And by the way," Hermione stopped at the very top. "I was with Viktor Krum, and I had a lovely time."

Ron watched her disappear behind the corner and sauntered over to the couch in front of the empty fireplace. He murmured a spell under his breath to ignite the flames without his wand. He didn't need it, awful moods usually fueled his power. On the coffee table before him he found a new issue of the Daily Prophet someone had left. He flipped through the contents and stopped at the Quidditch section. Headlining the wizarding sports news was Viktor Krum and his team's victory over America. He stared at the moving picture of Krum catching the snitch and nodding, holding it in his fist in triumph. Ron ripped out the picture and threw it into the fireplace, watching it slowly burn before putting his face in his hands and crying about how they both ruined everything between each other.

* * *

**A/N: Surprised that it was Krum? Tell me what you think in the reviews! I love writing Hermione with attitude. Follow the story if you're interested and review review review please! I love hearing what you have to say, even if it's that I made a mistake somewhere. Any feedback is good feedback! Almost to 30 yay!**


	16. Jealousy

Chapter 16: **Jealousy**

Ron interlocked his fingers with Lavender's and walked to the Great Hall for dinner after their quick study date. Ever since Hermione had told him off in the common room, Ron had become more and more clingy to Lavender, making it a point to everyone that he cared about her. Or _appeared_ to care about her at least. This charade had been going on for about a week by now, and Ron had grown more and more miserable each day. He thought putting himself through excruciating pain with Lavender would be worth it as long as it hurt Hermione. The problem, however, was that it didn't have any effect on Hermione at all. In fact, she had been happier than ever since cutting her ties with Ron again. This of course was because she had not only Viktor, but Harry as well.

Not only was Ron becoming more and more jealous of his ex-idol, but he was becoming the same way with his best friend as well. As a result of Run spending all of his time with Lavender, the trio had become a duo with Harry and Hermione as partners in crime. Together they ate meals, studied, and spent time with one another at Slug Club meetings. The only time Ron was able to get a word in with Harry was at night when they got ready for bed in their dormitory.

"So, when's Hermione going out with Viktor again?" Ron sneered while putting on an old t-shirt to sleep in that night.

"Tomorrow," Harry yawned while pulling on some flannel bottoms.

"Well brilliant."

"I don't see why you're so bothered Ron, you're going out with Lavender tomorrow anyways."

"What's wrong with you?" Ron sat on his bed and Harry fell face forward on his.  
"Slug Club went on for what felt like ages. People just need to...stop talking," Harry yawned again into his pillow.

Just a second later, Dean Thomas poked his head in.

"Hey just a heads up lads, Neville's going to be studying in the library all night with Luna and Seamus is going to be in the common room late writing an essay due tomorrow and I'm sneaking out with Ginny to–"

"Stop right there," Ron winced. "Don't tell me anymore, just go," he waved Dean away and groaned when he left.

Harry had the same disgusted look on his face as Ron, but for very, _very_ different reasons. He sat up in bed and cleaned off his glasses while cursing Dean under his breath. Ron noticed this and grinned a little.

"Nice to know that you want to be looking out for Ginny as well, she's like a sister to you too." Harry rolled his eyes and buried his face in his pillow once more. Ron didn't take the hint and continued to blather on, "I mean, it's awful hearing about it. I don't think anyone wants to know that their sister is snogging some...some guy and in public places w-with tongue and–"

"Can we change the subject?" Harry cut him off, his nails digging into his pillow at all the images put into his head by Ron.

"Not only is Ginny going out with guys she shouldn't be with, but Hermione is as well with Viktor," he screwed up his face. "I mean she's really that desperate that she needs to call up some dimwitted twat she hasn't spoken to in years just for a few more measly ounces of self confidence?" Ron laughed bitterly, "It's pathe–"

"Shut up!" Harry shouted. "Just for a moment, shut up Ron," Harry got up for the third time.

"Would you like to tell me what the hell is wrong with you too mate? Because you're acting just as bad as her lately," Ron's eyes narrowed.

"You want to know what's _wrong_ with me Ron?" Harry grinned sarcastically and crawled to the foot of his bed. "Well let's see, um, classes are a tad bit hard this year so I need to work harder to keep my grades up. I have to plan out our Quidditch plays and practices which no one has been taking seriously. Hmm what else, oh yeah. Dumbledore told me to get into the Slug Club because Slughorn knows something crucial that could help us in our fight against Voldemort who at this very moment is planning to kill me. And besides telling me to kiss ass, Dumbledore hasn't been speaking to me at all, keeping me in the dark about business as if I'm some sort of idiot. And on top of all of that my two best friends are fighting about absolutely nothing and are forcing me to choose sides while dumping their own petty problems about each other on me as if I have all the time and patience in the world to listen to them whine and complain about shit I really don't care about. That's exactly what wrong with me Ron, thanks for asking," Harry got up and patted him on the back before returning to his bed. "Good night old chum," he closed his curtains and put his pillow over his head.

Ron stared at his friend's bed for a moment before laying back on his own.

"Well you didn't have to be such an ass about it."

* * *

"So, your victory over America means that you're going against England in the quarter-finals in Quidditch, correct?" Hermione asked Viktor the following night. The two of them were back at The Three Broomsticks sharing another drink on a Friday night since that was the simplest way to spend time with one another.

"Yes that is correct," Viktor answered and smiled at her. "You have been keeping up with the game?"

"Yes of course, I've been reading all about it and have been listening to commentary on games an–"

"Do you play?"

"No but–"

"I can teach you when we finish drinks."

"Okay sure," she grinned, earning a smile back from him.

Ron watched as they played footsie under their table in disgust. Lavender was too busy talking about herself to notice that her boyfriend wasn't paying any attention to her whatsoever. She put on her coat and fished for money to pay for the date since she knew Ron really didn't have the money to afford it at the moment. He had spent what was left of his already pitiful amount of savings on her throughout the week. Paying for one date was the least she could do for the boy who had literally tried to buy her the world on a salary of less then seven gallions.

"Won-Won, ready to go back?" she asked in her usual baby voice.

"Yeah I'll catch up with you at the castle, I have to do something," he muttered.

"Wait you need to do wha–?"

"Look, Ginny's going home with Dean, go with them."

"I can wait for yo–"

"Go," he said darkly.

Lavender's smile faded a bit and she nodded. She complied to his command and walked home with Ginny and Dean, a bit turned on by this sudden burst of anger and control from him.

Ron watched as Viktor placed his coat over Hermione's shoulders while she left a tip for Rosmerta on their table. He saw Viktor place his chin on her shoulder and clenched his fists when she gave him a peck on the cheek. Ron put on a bitter grin and walked up to the two of them with utter hate in his eyes.

"Well if it isn't Hermione Granger and Viktor Krum," he said loud enough for the whole tavern to hear. "Having a good date?" his eyes darted towards Hermione who's face instantly hardened.

"I think we are," Viktor said, unaware of what was going on.

"So, I guess this must be rockbottom for you, huh Hermione?" Ron patted her on the shoulder. "You know, I thought agreeing to go out with McLaggen was low, but this, woo this takes the cake," he laughed sarcastically.

"Are you alright?" Viktor asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just enjoying watching Hermione _slut it up_ for any guy who gives her a little smile and a wink."

"Ron you bett–" Hermione stood in front of Viktor, readying her arm to give him a good sock in the jaw before Viktor grabbed her shoulder.

"It is okay Hermione," Viktor's eyes darkened at Ron. "I will handle this."

"What happened to that dumbass accent of yours mate? It was starting to grow on me two years ago."

"_Ro–_" Hermione started towards him but Viktor caught her once again.

"It is alright, please wait for me in my room upstairs at The Hogs Head. Room 3," he placed the keys in her hand and gave her a look of assurance. Hermione nodded and stormed out of the pub cursing loud enough for pretty much everyone in the room to hear. "I understand," Viktor said, looking straight into Ron's narrowed eyes.

"The fuck are you taking about?" Ron shook his head.

"You are unhappy because Hermione has moved on, and you have not, correct?"

"What are you saying mate?" Ron laughed. "'_Moved on_'?"

"You and Hermione have dated. And Hermione is ready to see other people, and you still have feelings for her. Am I right?"

"Hermione and I never dated," Ron scoffed, "And we've never had '_feelings_' for each other that's for sure. Besides, I have a girlfriend"

"Then, you are being an asshole to Hermione and I for no reason?" Ron's brow furrowed and he bit his lip. "Listen, I do not know why you have decided to harass Hermione, but I would like you to know that you will lose this battle," Viktor smiled a bit. "I do not not know much about women. But I do know that I am a seeker for a national team in Quidditch and I was Hermione's first kiss. And you...you are a boy from a low pureblood family who plays keeper for a house team living in Harry Potter's shadow. I think you are smart enough to know who Hermione would choose." Ron pulled back and attempted to punch Viktor, but he caught his fist in his palm. "Not a good idea my friend," he let go of Ron. "Farewell, Ron Weasley."

Viktor left cooly, leaving Ron in a pub filled with people who couldn't take their eyes off of him. He looked back at the people sitting around and they all flinched and went back to their business. Ron sauntered over to the bar, imitating Viktor's speech under his breath. He glanced over at Madam Rosemerta who was busy talking to some guys at another table. Ron scanned his surroundings and quickly snatched a bottle of firewhiskey. He poured some of it into an empty glass then chugged it down without taking a single breath. Ron ignored the burning in his throat and poured himself glass all the way up to the rim. He was going to be in horrible pain the next morning, but that didn't matter. All he was thinking about while pouring himself a third glass was numbing the heartache that was emerging now from his own stupidity.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews from the last chapter, I will be thanking you all in a few more chapters or so. Just for future reference, this is probably the worst Ron's ever going to be (to Hermione at least) in the story. I think. Yes, you all have every right to call him an ass. However, keep in mind that he's only acting like a little brat because he's jealous that Hermione's so into Viktor and not him, hence the title of this segment. Nevertheless, I hope that you still like the story and will be back to read the next chapter. The next couple will be pretty long compared to the others. Please review! I'm so close to 40 reviews and I'm so excited! :)**


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